Undertale - Post Genocide
by Master Porky Minch
Summary: No matter what you do, no matter where you go, the past must always be paid for in time.
1. The Nightmare's Just Begun

Chapter 1

The Nightmare's Just Begun

"Asriel… Asriel… wakey-wakey."

Asriel's eyes slowly opened as he found himself, laying quietly on a familiar flowery field. He held his hand, expecting to be able to feel nothing as a flower, but was surprised to feel the familiar feeling of his hand on his head.

He looked at his hand and gave a surprised gasp. He thought that he was supposed to be awakened once again as Flowey, the golden flower that had absolutely no capacity to feel love or any positive emotion. However, he was surprised, both pleasantly and somewhat scarily, that he had awakened in his real form.

He looked up and stared at the hole that was far above him, shining light down from the sun that shone above the surface onto the Underground through that one hole. "…I… I don't understand." he said as he slowly got up.

As he got his body moving, he began to register the feeling of his body. It was ravaged by hunger and thirst, as his normal body hadn't gotten very much nutrition through all the time he was stuck as a flower. His stomach hurt from starvation, and his throat was dry and burning from dehydration. His body was very faint, and felt like it could collapse at any minute, but by some sort of strange twisted miracle, he stayed conscious, and his body remained in one piece.

"I… need… to get…" he groaned as he began to walk slowly. He didn't understand. His body didn't do this when he got back into his body when he absorbed the souls of all the monsters in the Underworld, so why exactly was this happening to him right now? It didn't make any sense, but for the moment, he couldn't think of that. He had to get some food and water quick; he couldn't stand the pain.

He knew that most, if not all of the monsters had left the Underground and moved up to the surface, and he knew that Asgore and Toriel, his parents, were among those that left. If he could somehow force his body through the puzzles that led to Toriel's house, he might be able to find some food and water there. He didn't mind that he wouldn't see Asgore or Toriel there, as he wasn't at all ready to face those that he hurt as Flowey, and he was sure he probably never would be.

The puzzles themselves weren't really hard at all for him, as he had gone through them hundreds of time with his adopted brother back when the both of them were still alive. It was, however, made more difficult by the fact that his body was so tired, and it had been quite a while since he had naturally walked like this.

He almost wanted to fall over from the pain from time to time when he was going through the puzzles, and there were a couple moments where he tripped and stumbled, almost making him take a wrong step and falling down. However, he was able to force himself throughout the puzzle and was able to make his way to the building that used to be the home of Toriel. He groaned as he got to the door and took ahold of the knob on the door, silently giving a prayer that the door would be unlocked. With that prayer in his mind, he turned the knob and pushed on the door.

Thankfully for him, the door was unlocked, and it opened for him. He stumbled his way in and looked around. The house was completely empty of people, and just about all of the possessions that belonged to Toriel were moved out, which showed that there's a good chance she wasn't going to be coming back.

He made his way to the bathroom and immediately got to the sink, turning on the cold water, which still ran for him and watched it flow down the faucet. He cupped his hands and brought it under the water, which was nice and cold, and as soon as his hands were full, he brought the water to his mouth and began to drink it. Normally he wouldn't have really liked the thought of having to drink the water from the sink, especially when it was the same water that he used to wash dirt and filth off his hands, but with how thirsty he was, he didn't care where the water came from.

He put his hands under the faucet every time he emptied his hands from the water and refilled them, to bring them back to his mouth and take another drink of it. He was so grateful to be able to have something to drink at that point in time, his dry and burning throat tingling from the feeling of the cold refreshing water flowing down it, and beginning to not hurt anymore as he continued to drink.

He drank as many handfuls as his body could possibly take and turned the faucet off. He panted a bit before he just sat down for a little bit. He panted and just relaxed as his body was taking in the feeling of the cold water now inside his belly. He was still very hungry, but he doubted he would be able to find any food in that building. His best bet would have to be seeing if there were any other monsters that hadn't gone to the surface yet, and see if they would be able to help him out. He didn't want to face anybody after what he had done, but at the same time, he was absolutely desperate to get something in his belly; this hunger was driving him insane.

He didn't know how long he had been sitting there, but he knew that his attention was drawn when he heard what sounded like the door of the house closing. He froze up when he heard this. He began to hope that it was just the wind, but it didn't appear to be his luck as he heard footsteps walking in the house. They sounded too light to be the footsteps of Toriel or Asgore, but that didn't make him feel too much better.

He remained quiet as the footsteps drew closer and closer and stopped right in front of the door of the bathroom. He had to cover his mouth in the hopes that his escalated breathing wouldn't be heard. He didn't want any monster to see him. He didn't want to be seen by anyone, and now there was someone at the door, waiting for him to come out.

In a matter of seconds, he heard a quiet sigh from the outside of the door and more footsteps, getting farther from the door. He got on his belly and crawled to the door, looking down in the little gap between the bottom of the door and the floor. Seemed like whoever was there had walked away from the bathroom.

He gave a little sigh as he opened the bathroom door and stepped out. He looked to the door that lead outside, and saw that it had been closed. He looked around for the person that had just walked by, but didn't see anybody.

He knew that he should have gotten out of there as quick as he could, if someone else had decided to make residence in this house in the absence of his mother and father, but his childhood curiosity got the best of him. He began walking around, looking to see if he could find anything.

He walked into the empty kitchen, which was just like the rest of the house, barren of anything except for one thing, and he couldn't believe his eyes when he saw it. It was a plate with a fork by it, having on it a piece of Butterscotch Cinnamon Pie, one of his favorite foods. He remembered the days where Toriel would bake that pie for some special event, with Asgore happily telling him and his adopted brother the tails of his job as king.

If there was a piece of that pie there, and his mother was the only person that she actually knew that made that, then there was a chance that Toriel may have actually been there after all. If that was the case, he should have started to get out of there at that very instant.

However, his stomach growling and the pain it brought him reminded him of the hunger that he was suffering, and he couldn't contain himself. In an instant, he walked to the pie and grabbed the fork, and began to slowly and carefully eat it.

The pie was just like he remembered it when he had it a long time ago. The taste of warm freshly baked pie crust, toped with a sweet butterscotch filling and topped with cinnamon hit his tongue. It tasted even better now, after having not tasted it for so long. He couldn't help but almost tear up as the sweet taste of the pie brought back so many fond memories of his past.

He gave a sigh and took another slow bite, savoring every last bit of it. He no longer cared whether or not he was going to be caught and hated. The sweet pie seemed to take away all his fears and all of his worries away. He swallowed the pie in his mouth before taking the fork and getting ready to eat some more of the pie.

"Even after starving and having nobody else around, you still find the time to remember your table manners." came a voice with a little chuckle.

Hearing the voice, Asriel gave a shocked gasp and froze up. It was a bit of a familiar voice, though older than the voice that he remembered. He was in such shock that his hand trembled and he dropped his fork on the floor.

"Don't be afraid, my brother." said the voice as the owner of the voice knelt down beside him. It was a boy that looked about the age of eleven or twelve, his hair somewhat long and brown, his skin pale, save for his cheeks, which were a strange rose blush color. "Please… do eat… you must be starving."

Ariel looked fearfully to his side and saw the smiling face that was, yet again, older that what he remembered, but all too familiar. No other guy had those kinds of rose colored cheeks like him, and those eyes had some sort of strange fire in them. They seemed to deeply care for Ariel, but at the same time they were cold and merciless.

"Ch… Chara…" he said in a faint whisper as he could feel his heart racing.

Chara gave a small giggle. "Yes… it's me." he said. "I knew that you would remember me, no matter what form I took when I met you…"

Asriel didn't know what to say. He put the plate with the pie down, his arm shaking. He was still very hungry, but at the moment, it was overridden by shock and fear. This was the brother of his that possessed him and caused his death.

"Hmhmhm… oh, my brother." Chara said as he knelt down and wrapped his arms gently around Asriel in a 'loving', brotherly embrace. "I've missed you so much."

Asriel remained silent. He didn't at all know what to say. He didn't know how he should feel about this all together. This was the brother that he had grown up with for quite some time… the one that possessed him that day and was indirectly the cause of his death… and yet here he was, in his embrace again.

Chara continued to hug Asriel like there wasn't a problem in the world, changing into a younger form of around Frisk and Asriel's age. "…Why aren't you returning my embrace?" he asked, his voice sounding a bit genuinely hurt, now having that complete familiarity. "…Aren't you happy to see me?"

"You… you possessed me that day." Asriel said as he slowly couldn't help but hug him back. "…You got me killed…"

"Oh dear brother, I'm so sorry." Chara said in the hug. "I did that because I wanted to stay with you… I wanted to stay with you… you were the only one that understood me."

"I… was trapped as that flower." Asriel said. "I… couldn't feel love… for so long…"

"I never meant for that to happen, Asriel… I wanted to be with you without having any limitations… I wanted you and I to be together… as brothers and best friends…" Chara gave a little bit of a sad sigh as he went on. "…I was going to bring your soul back with me so we could be together… but somehow, without a soul, you had already come to life in the form of that golden flower… and I couldn't find you any where."

Chara gave a little quiver and hugged Asriel closer. "I was so worried when I couldn't find you anywhere… I thought that I had messed up somewhere… I thought you were gone for good… but luckily I was able to find you as Flowey during your final battle with Friska… I was so surprised that it was you… I… was… just so relieved you were ok."

Asriel looked up at him. He wanted to say something, but his attention was brought back to his body when he heard his stomach growl again and his stomach hurting again. "…Chara… I…"

"It's ok." Chara said as he picked up the pie and the fork. "Please… allow me. It's the least I can do from all the pain I've caused you." He gave Asriel the pie, and Asriel began to eat it again. "Is there anything else I can get for you?"

Asriel shook his head. "Nothing that I can think of." he said as he finished up the piece of pie and gave it back to Chara, who held the plate and had it disappear, while putting the fork in his pocket. "Th… thanks." Asriel said with a nod. He was starting to feel more comfortable being around Chara again.

Chara nodded. "Anything for you, Asriel." he said as he stood against the wall with that smile of his.

Asriel smiled. He was still pretty hungry, but that pie certainly did make him feel quite a ways better. He stood and looked at Chara. "So… there aren't many people in the Underworld yet… we might be the only ones here."

Chara gave a nod and looked up a bit. "Yep. It would appear that way." he said.

Asriel gave a happy giggle. "So, that means that we have almost the whole Underground all to ourselves." he said. "What do you want to do? We could go play hide and seek in the Ruins, or have a snowball fight in Snowdin Forest."

"Those sound nice… but… there's something else that I want to do." Chara said with a little sigh.

"Oh? And what is it? What do you want to do?"

Chara gave a little bit of hesitation, almost as if he really didn't want to tell Asriel. Nevertheless, he looked back to Asriel, his eyes meeting with his, and showing that familiar fire of vengeance. "…I want you to help me finish what you and I started." he said.

Asriel went quiet when he heard that, the smile on his face had now faded, and the fear began to slowly creep back into his heart. "Wh… what do you mean?" he questioned. He wanted to play dumb, like he had no idea what Chara was talking about, but he knew exactly what he meant.

"I mean that I want to finish what you and I started." he said, changing back into that older form of his. "I wanted to destroy all of the humans, you wanted to teach both humans and monsters your motto of kill or be killed. We were both stopped… me, technically by you, and you by Frisk and her friends… think about it, Asriel. We worked so hard and sacrificed so much to complete those objectives, and suddenly, they were taken from us… we shouldn't let all of our hard work go to waste… let's finish what we started… let's kill them all… and make a new world… where WE are the Gods… where we rule over all."

"But… I…" Asriel said as he looked down. He didn't want Chara to be like this. Sure, he wasn't really the best person out there, having a strong hatred for the humans for some unknown reason, and having no remorse when they 'accidentally' poisoned Asgore when they put buttercups in the pie, when they were supposed to put cups of butter in, but he was still Asriel's brother, and he was still the best friend he had ever had.

"No… I… I can't do it." he said shaking his head. "I just can't… I don't want to hurt anybody… I just want our mom, our dad, Frisk… I want everyone to live happily… away from someone like me…"

Chara remained quiet, though crossed his arms as Asriel continued speaking. "…When I was brought back as a flower… I had no soul… no capacity to feel love or any positive emotion… I only had this stupid, twisted perception that it was always kill or be killed… I could never make up for what I've done… but to the very least… I can promise that I'd never hurt anyone ever again…"

Chara gave an irritated sigh. "…How pitiful." he said, his voice somewhat changed from what he had spoken to originally. His voice now sounded almost void of any feelings, and sharp as a knife. He turned around to face the wall. "…Perhaps you didn't quite understand me…"

He turned around back to face Asriel again, and the said monster gave a terrified yelp at what he saw. Chara's face had suddenly become horrifying. His eyes had disappeared, and were now just empty black sockets, and his mouth had a horrifying open smile among in. "WHEN DID YOU THINK YOU EVER HAD A CHOICE?"

Suddenly, the entire room began to flash red and black rapidly, as Chara was slowly approaching Asriel, giving some distorted, horrifying laughter with a horrible noise falling among the background. Asriel was scared out of his wits. He gave a terrified scream and ran to the door, which was closed, presumable by Chara. He began to desperately pull at the door to open it, but it wouldn't budge. Chara had him completely trapped.

Asriel screamed in horror as he looked back and saw that Chara was standing right there, just inches away from him. Asriel fell from his standing and sat against the door, his knees knocking against each other as his legs shook and trembled in pure terror. His breathing and his heart rate were fast and hard, and tears of fear were streaming out of his eyes and down his cheeks. "Chara! No!" he pleaded as Chara stood there, still with that twisted laugh while the room continued to flash red and black. "P-please Chara! Please don't kill me!"

"KILL YOU?" Chara questioned with another laugh, his speaking voice practically demonic. "OH, NO MY DEAR BROTHER. I'M NOT GOING TO KILL YOU. I HAVE… OTHER USES FOR YOU."

"No! Chara! Please!" Asriel screamed as Chara reached his hand for Asriel's face.

Frisk shot up from the bed that she laid on in her room, screaming bloody murder in the night. Her eyes were wide awake and her heart heated fast and hard, just like her breathing was hard and loud.

She looked around and saw herself in her room. She began to cry and sob as she hugged her knees close to her and curled herself up.

In a matter of seconds, Toriel came running in. "What is it, child?" she questioned, scared out of her wits. "What happened?"

"M-Mommy!" Frisk cried. She started calling Toriel as her mother now that the adventure was over and she was staying with her. "I didn't want to! It's just… Sans, and the fight, to Asgore, and-"

"Ssh… it's ok, my child." she said as she patted her back. "It was just a bad dream."

This wasn't just a one time thing. It had happened constantly after the barrier had gone and the monsters had moved to the surface. Frisk was having these nightmares of apparent events were she was a much darker person and killed every monster in her way. It wasn't so bad at first, and Toriel really didn't notice much, but it steadily became worse as the days went on. Frisk was apparently starting to do really bad at school, as she's not paying attention in class and seems to barely be able to stay awake. She becomes afraid every night to go to sleep, and now, for the past couple of days, she had woken up in the dead of night, screaming like she had just witnessed someone get killed.

Toriel gave a sigh and looked at the door, where a little dream catcher hung. She had got it in the hopes of being able to help Frisk sleep without these constant nightmares appearing, but it obviously wasn't working well at all. "Come child… go back to sleep, and you'll feel better in the morning."

"B-but Mommy…" Frisk said in a little quivering whisper. "…S-Sans… he's… he's-"

"Sans is alright, my child. Nothing bad happened to him… in fact, here…" She handed Frisk her phone. "Why don't you call him right now?"

Frist hesitated for a minute but took the phone and dialed Sans's number. She put the phone to her ear and waited quietly. One ring… two rings… three… four… five…

"'Ello?" came Sans's voice on the other end, sounding tired and a bit irritated. "Who's there?"

"S-S-Sans?" Frisk questioned quivering. "I-is that you?"

"Yes, it's me." he said with a little yawn. "Ugh… what do you want, kid? It's three in the morning, and I'm trying to sleep here."

"I… sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up." Frisk said. "I… just…"

"I'll take it from here, child." Toriel said as she took the phone from Frisk and put it to her ear. "I told her to call you, Sans. She had a nightmare, and I told her to call you to make sure you were ok."

"Kid's dreaming about me, huh?" Sans said with a tired yawn. "Well… I'm alright. I ain't dead or anything… so, could you not bother me in the night time? Some people have to work in the day."

"Oh please." Toriel said with a roll of her eyes. "When have you ever worked for anything?"

"I'll have you know that I'm working two separate jobs." Sans said. "Would a lazy person have two jobs to work?"

"You only have two jobs because you legally get two breaks through it. Besides, I don't think running an illegal hot dog stand qualifies."

"'Ey… I'd love to argue with you but… you know. Gotta rest well for work tomorrow. See ya later." Sans hung up after that.

Toriel gave a roll of her eyes and put the phone down and looked at Frisk. "There. Sans is alright. In fact, he's just being his old lazy bones self."

Frisk gave a nod and hugged close to Toriel. "Sorry for bothering you, Mommy…"

Toriel hugged Frisk close. "Frisk… I know that you don't mean to have these nightmares… but this has been going on for too long. You're barely sleeping at night, you can barely focus, and your performance at school has dropped horribly." She gave a sigh and had Frisk look at her. "…What exactly did you dream about this time?"

"I… I dreamt that I had fought Sans…" she said. "…I killed him… and then I went and killed Asgore… I…" She looked up at Toriel. "Mommy… am… am I a bad person for having these dreams?"

"Of course not, dear." Toriel said as she gently petted her head. "You're not a bad person… and don't you ever think otherwise."

Frisk gave a nod and let go of Toriel as she stood up. "Try to get some sleep, dear." she said as she walked out of the room and closed the door behind her. Frisk gave a little quiver and laid her head back down on the pillow.


	2. Debts to be Paid

Chapter 2

Debts to be Paid

When Frisk woke up the next morning, she was greeted with the sight of sunshine entering her room from the window, and the sound of birds chirping outside. She looked at an alarm clock that she had at the nightstand left of her bed, and she saw that it was around 9 AM.

She was really confused. It was Tuesday, and she was supposed to have class today. She distinctly remembered turning on her alarm clock before she went to bed last night, and even if she may have forgotten, Toriel would have surely woken her up.

She gave a groan as her head was aching and she still felt very tired. She hadn't gotten a good night's sleep in a few days now, and she was horribly tired. She had to force herself to stay awake as she got up.

She looked to her door and saw a note. She walked over to the door and took the note and read it out loud.

" _To Frisk,_

 _I've decided that it would be best to keep you home until we've gotten this nightmare situation taken care of. I called you in, and you'll be staying home today. Asgore will be there to watch after you while I'm at the school, teaching. Be good for him, and make sure that he doesn't drink all of the tea._

 _Love, Toriel_ "

Frisk gave a little sigh and a shake of her head. She felt like she was causing so much stress to Toriel. It must have been so irritating for Toriel, waking up in the middle of the night every single night to her screaming.

She looked up when she heard a knock at the door. "Hello?" came Asgore's strong yet kind voice from inside. "You awake, Frisk?"

Frisk gave a sigh and left her room, slowly and tiredly making her way to the door of the house and opened it. Asgore was standing there in his usual wear. He hadn't changed one bit since Frisk had last seen him.

The same case wasn't for her, however. She seemed quite a bit different than what she looked like when Asgore had last seen her. Her hair was a mess, her eyes were bloodshot and very droopy, and overall, she just looked almost lifeless and out of energy. "Hello, child." Asgore greeted as he ducked his head to get in, having to do so because of the horns on his head. "…You don't look so good."

Frisk gave a little nod. She couldn't really think clearly due to how tired she was. "Well… perhaps no… but… I feel fine…"

Asgore gave a slow nod, obviously not at all convinced, and gave a hum. He put his hand gently on her shoulder and began to walk with her to the living room. "Toriel told me that you hadn't been doing very good lately." he said as he gently sat her down on the couch with him. "She told me that you had been having nightmares recently, and you're not getting any sleep because of them."

Frisk gave a little sigh and a nod. "…I'm sorry to have you… take the time… for me…" she said through tired yawns as she leaned on him slightly. "I… know you… must be really… frustrated with…"

"Oh, not at all." Asgore said as he looked at her. "I don't mind at all watching over you. In fact, it's really nice to be able to see you again. I just would have hoped that the circumstances for our meeting would have been much better, though."

Frisk gave a little nod and hummed sleepily. She didn't want to fall asleep, and she tried her hardest to not drift off. "So… what exactly kind of nightmares do you have, child?" Asgore questioned. "I mean… what all do you see in them?"

"Eh… izza… advenchrs I… traveled in the… Underground, aa…" Frisk slurred out tiredly. "I keel… alduh… mossers itha…"

"Uh… I'm sorry… could you please repeat that?" Asgore said. "I didn't really understand a single word you just said."

"Oh…" Frisk said as she shook her head quickly like a dog shakes its body when wet, to try to shake some of the drowsy out of her. She then repeated herself, only making herself much more clear. "Their… the adventures that I traveled in the Underground… but I do everything differently… I kill everyone… all the monsters… you, Sans, Papyrus… Undyne, Alphys… even Mom… I see me… killing you all… and…"

"Oh, Frisk." Asgore said as he gently put his hand on her shoulder. "You would never do such a thing as that… it's alright, dear… they're just bad dreams… more than likely a result of some of the stress you got from your adventures in the Underground… you have nothing to worry about."

Frisk gave a tired nod and looked sleepily up at Asgore. She could feel her eyelids grow very heavy. She needed to start some kind of a conversation with Asgore, something to keep her awake. "So… how's… everything go… ing with… you and Mom?" she questioned. "You… two… gonna… get back… toge… ther at… some point?…"

Asgore gave a hum and looked up. "Toriel and I… we're doing alright so far." Asgore said. "I don't know if she and I would be getting back together at anytime… but I will fully admit, that would be something I would really like." he said. He gave a hum and looked at the fireplace, his memories of the past coming back.

"…Hehehe. I can still remember the days when Toriel and I were pretty much inseparable." Asgore said as he couldn't really help but begin to tell the whole tale. This was part of what he had dreamed of, to sit in the living room and tell stories like a family. "Back then, even after everything had happened to us from the humans, everything in the Underground seemed to go really well… everyone was happy, and there wasn't at all much to worry about… everything was great."

Frisk nodded and listened on. She was hoping that hearing some words from Asgore would help her stay up, but that didn't seem to be the case. She began to blink slower and slower as Asgore telling his long, and almost kind of boring story was having the exact opposite effect on her and making her even more sleepy.

"Things only started to get bad when our adopted son, the first human to ever fall from the surface into the Underground, died of a mysterious illness… we tried everything we could to save him… but it just wasn't enough." He gave a little sad sigh and scratched at his beard as he continued on. "After that… for some reason that I'd never be able to guess, our other son, Asriel Dreemur, took his body and was somehow able to get to a human village with it… they ended up killing him, and everything in the Underground seemed hopeless at that point."

Asgore continued talking on, being so into the fact that he could finally tell his story to someone that could be a part of his family that he didn't notice that Frisk was now completely leaning on him with her eyes closed, slightly drooling a little bit.

"I was so overcome with rage that I promised that I would kill any human that came down there, and use their souls to provide an escape from the Underground… I honestly had no intention of doing such a thing, but it was able to cheer the rest of the Underground up. Everyone seemed to be happy again… except for Toriel. She became disgusted that I could ever do such a thing… she divorced me and left being queen of the Underground behind… I wanted to find her ever since then, but I had made a promise to my people… I didn't want to hurt anybody or cause any war, but I had made a promise… so I had to keep it."

He closed his eyes and gave a little smile and went on. "But thanks to you, Frisk… everything seems to have gone well… the souls of the other six humans that I had I released when I came up here… I was able to meet Toriel again, even though it didn't go at all as well as I would have hoped… and now, my people are finally out of that wretched prison… we finally have a bright future here, on the surface… in harmony with the humans…"

He opened his eyes as he heard a very faint snoring. He glanced down at Frisk and saw her gently leaning on his big strong body, sleeping soundly and slightly drooling on his armor. "…Oh." he said with a little nod. He decided to give her the benefit of the doubt and assume that she fell asleep because she was so tired, not because she was bored of the conversation they had.

He gave a hum and gently picked her up, carrying her to her room and laying her on her bed, tucking her in. "…If you need anything while I'm here, please don't hesitate." Asgore said. "I'll be more than happy to do anything I can for you, child… after all, you've done so much for me… thank you…." He smiled and walked out of her room, closing the door behind him.

"…OH YES." came a dark voice from the corner after Asgore left the room. There stood a sort of black figure, tall and surrounded by some kind of dark aura. "…THANK YOU INDEED… EIGHTH HUMAN." it said as it approached Frisk. "…IT'S TIME NOW… TIME TO COLLECT MY PAYMENT…"

In about an hour or two, after reliving the horrible nightmare she had last night, which ended in her killing King Asgore and destroying Flowey until he was nothing left, she was met with black and darkness. For the first time, she couldn't wake up from the nightmare.

She looked around in the darkness. "…Hello?" she cried out as she looked around. "…Asgore?… Mama?… Anybody?… Please…" She was scared out of wits end.

"…What's the matter?" came a boy's voice. "You afraid of the dark?"

Frisk looked behind her and immediately saw the smiling face of a young boy, about her age. He had brown hair, pail skin, and rose pink cheeks. "…Hello there, Frisk."

Frisk stared at him, slightly backing up a bit. "H… how…" she said. "…How do you know my name?"

The boy gave a little laugh. " Hahahahahaha! Oh Frisk, you're so funny." he said. "Don't you remember? It's me, Chara. We met once before, remember?"

Frisk looked at every detail about him. The brown pants he wore, the green shirt that was on him, and those pink cheeks… she really tried her hardest to remember a time of seeing him before, but she couldn't recall ever seeing this boy until just now. "I… I don't recall." she said.

Chara gave a hum and looked up in thought. "Hmmm… interesting… perhaps when we restarted the world, it also somehow took your memories of the events that transpired beforehand… very intriguing…"

Frisk was beginning to get disturbed by what this boy was saying. Something wasn't at all right with him. "Wh… what do you want?" she questioned. "…What are you gonna do with me?"

"Oh, it's not much really. I don't really want much of anything, really." Chara said with a shrug and looked at her. He gave a little bit of a grin, which made Frisk even more uncomfortable with being around this guy. "…I'm simply here to claim my debt."

"Wh… what do you mean… what debt?… I never…"

"Oh… don't play dumb, Frisk. You know what I'm talking about." he said. "You and I made a deal, and now it's time that you hold your end of the bargain… your soul now belongs to me… now give it here."

"Wh… no! You can't…" Frisk said as she began to back up. Chara's already unsettling grin was starting to become wider, and his eyes were slowly starting to disappear. "I… I don't owe you anything! Just… go away! Leave me alone!"

"You think you can avoid me?" Chara questioned as his mouth went open, his eyes completely gone. "YOU SOLD YOUR SOUL TO ME LONG AGO."

He began to slowly approach her, with the entire place flashing red and black. He was laughing and heading at her. Frisk gave a panicked scream as she closed her eyes and strained as hard as she could, trying to get herself to wake up.

Chara's horrible laughter was getting closer, and she knew that he was simply inches away from getting what he wanted. However, she wasn't going to give up. She was filled with determination, and it kept her straining with all her might to wake herself up.

"No!" Frisk screamed as she woke up with a dart and kicked her leg, kicking Chara back, forcing him to release his grip on her head.

Frisk looked and saw the black figure walking back, its hands on its stomach as it wasn't at all expecting the kick. The dark aura that surrounded it dispersed and revealed the same boy that Frisk had just met in her dreams. He looked at Frisk and saw that she was awake. "Impossible." he said. "Nobody is ever able to resist me… how?… How did you…"

Frisk was breathing hard as she immediately got off the bed and stood up. She stared as Chara tried to mentally search for an answer of how she was able to escape his grasp, but shook his head as he looked back at Frisk. "Well… no matter… if you won't cooperate with me the easy way, I'll have absolutely no issues… RIPPING IT OUT OF YOU BY FORCE."

Frisk gave a horrified scream as she was already backed against the wall by her window. She could have tried to escape out of there, but she knew she wouldn't have much places to go, and Chara would eventually find her anyway. The only real option she had to have any hope of getting out of this situation alive was to call for help. "Asgore!" she cried out as she got her back against the wall. "Asgore! Help!"

Meanwhile, in the living room, Asgore was reading a book that Toriel had on one of her bookshelves. It was a book called _To Kill a Mockingbird,_ and he was certainly enjoying the book. There were quite a number of times where the book used a word that started with n that he had never heard of before in all his years of ruling the Underground. "Huh… I'll have to find out what that word means some time." he said as he turned the page and continued to read.

"Asgore!" came Frisk's voice from her room. Hearing the terrified screaming of Frisk, he immediately looked up from the book and looked at the direction of her screaming. It sounded like she was in some kind of legitimate danger.

There came her voice again, and Asgore immediately knew that something wasn't right. "Asgore! Help!"

"Frisk?" Asgore questioned as he sat up and began to hurriedly head towards her room. He had his hand reach for his trident under his robes, just in case he needed to protect Frisk from anything.

Chara gave that malicious laugh. "Go ahead. Call for help, you little worm." he said as he put his hand on her chin and grabbed her by the cheeks and made her look into his eye sockets. "Squeal for mercy like the pig you are… nobody's going to save you. You and I made a deal… AND NOW I'M GOING TO TAKE WHAT'S MINE!"

"Frisk!" came Asgore's voice as he opened the door, making Chara turn away and glance over. "Frisk, what's going-" His words were caught in his throat with a gasp as he looked at what was going on.

There was nothing but silence for a good couple of minutes as both Chara and Asgore stood there, silently staring at each other. Chara's eyes had reappeared and his mouth turned back to normal as they both stared at each other. Frisk kept quiet and stayed as still as humanly possible, not daring to utter a single word or make a single sound.

"…Ch… Chara…" Asgore said as he almost took a step back, his hand releasing the trident he carried behind his cloak.

"…F… Father?…" Chara questioned. He released his grip on Frisk's cheeks as he stood up, staring at Asgore.

Frisk remained quiet and breathed hard as she stared at both Asgore and Chara. She didn't like the way that Chara had called Asgore 'Father', and she wanted to ask about it, but still she said nothing. She was afraid that her saying a single word would remind Chara that he had some business to finish.

Asgore began to slowly walk in, his face riddled with disbelief, as if he was in some kind of dream. "Chara…" he said quietly. "…Chara… my son…"

Chara remained quiet. He practically forgot that Frisk was there at this point. He just continued to stare into the face of his father. He couldn't help but feel this feeling inside him, the same feeling that he got when he had first met back up with Asriel just yesterday.

"You… you were dead." Asgore said as he approached just a little bit. "…You died…"

"…Yes Father… I am dead." he said as he glanced back over to Frisk and then back to Asgore. "…I am dead… and that's what I'm about to change…"

"Wh… what are you doing?" Asgore questioned. "…What do you want with Frisk?"

"…I want to finish what was started by me long ago." Chara said. "…I'm going to take Frisk's life as my own… and I'll wipe out all the humans that have ruined our lives in the past… then we can be together again… as a family…" That wasn't at all the main reason, but he wanted Asgore to not interfere with his plans.

"But… Chara… no." Asgore said. "I can't let you do that. You can't take the life of an innocent child for your own desires."

"Why not? If I remember correctly, you tried to do the same thing in your lifetime, did you not?" Chara questioned. Being the clever being that he was, he was trying to see if he could pin some of the blame on Asgore. "You killed six other 'innocent children' so you and the other monsters could be able to escape the Underground and destroy all the humans on the surface… if you can do that… why can't I?"

"Son… I made a mistake at that time, and it will be a mistake that will always haunt me." Asgore said. "But I can't let you hurt Frisk. Just step away from her."

"Why don't you just come and make me?" Chara dared as he once again grabbed Frisk by the cheeks and made her look at him with him. "If you really care about this girl more than your own son, then go ahead, just try and stop me. I dare you."

"Chara… please, don't make this so hard on us." Asgore said. "I don't want to hurt you."

"Is that so?… Good, then you'll have absolutely no issues with me taking what rightfully belongs to me." Chara got that terrifying face once again and turned to Frisk.

Frisk just remained there. She couldn't move, and her entire body felt numb. She was so overcome with fear that she couldn't move. "P… please… you can't…"

"Sorry, dear child… we had a deal." Chara said with a grin as he grabbed her chest. "Now… it's time to pay up."

Asgore closed his eyes and clenched his fists as he was hesitating on what to do now. "…Forgive me… my son…" he said in a quiet whisper as he opened his eyes, pulled out the trident that was under his cloak, and yelled as he fired a flurry of magical fire at his son.

Chara's hand was beginning to turn black as he was about to begin the process of taking her soul and bringing his plan to a complete start, but he sensed the powerful fiery magic that was approaching him. He turned around and saw the fires heading straight for him, having no time to react before the flames hit him. The fires hit Chara, sending him ablaze.

Frisk gave a yelp as Chara was set on fire. He let go of her chest and gave a scream of agony as he began to run, his entire body a walking inferno as the fires burnt him. He fell on his back and began to thrash around to put the fires out, screaming in a way that Frisk had never heard before.

Asgore watched in great anguish as his son burned from his attack. He didn't want to have to hurt Chara, but he had left him no choice. He watched as Chara continued to burn, thrashing about with the smoke starting to rise. From his thrashing, the blazes had caught the curtains of the window and set them on fire as well. It would only be a matter of time before the entire house started to burn at this rate. He couldn't stand there and do nothing. He needed to get himself and Frisk to safety.

With the trident still in one hand, he got to Frisk and took her hand. "Come on, there's no time. We have to get out of here quickly." he said as he ran, holding Frisk's hand as they ran out of the room.

Chara thrashed around for a few more good seconds before the fires that were around him were extinguished. He gave a groan of pain as he rolled on his stomach and forced himself to his feet. He gave a curse that the fires hurt more than he would have liked. He was very powerful, but he didn't yet have his full power. He didn't like to admit it, but he alone still didn't have the power to defeat Asgore.

He gave a growl and looked as the curtains in the room burned, setting more and more things in the room on fire. He growled and gave a wicked grin as he took out a pencil and a 'magic' notebook that he had taken from a monster named So Sorry. "You'll pay for that one, old man." he growled as he began to draw on a page of the notebook.

Asgore ran Frisk to the living room, and stopped them both and got on his knee, holding Frisk's arms and looking at her deep in the eyes. He had to know. "Frisk, what was he talking about?" he questioned. "What did Chara mean by you and him having a deal?"

"I-I-I don't know." Frisk said as she was in a complete panic now. "I don't know what he's talking about."

"Did you make a deal with him at any point of your life? Have you met him before?!" Asgore questioned on, obviously in a bit of a panic himself. He was usually very calm and collected, but something about this time had him scared.

"I've never met him in my life until now! I swear!" Frisk said as she looked back to her room. Smoke was starting to rise from under the door as more things in her room were catching fire. "I just woke up after having a nightmare, and I found him trying to take my soul! I've never made any deal with him!"

Asgore remained quiet and looked deep in her eyes. He saw no traces of lying in her as she stared directly into his eyes. He gave a sigh and a nod and stood up, releasing Frisk's arms. "…We need to get out of here, now." he said. "…It's not safe here for any of us."

"Ch… Chara…" Frisk said as she looked back at the door and looked back at Asgore. She then remembered somebody mentioning the name Chara several times. "He… he was the human that fell down in the Underground that you took care of… you adopted him."

"Yes… Toriel and I took care of him… we loved and cared for him like he was our own…" Asgore looked at her. "Frisk… the dream you said you were having… what exactly did you dream of?… What did Chara say to you?"

Before any of them could have a chance to say another thing, the door that led to Frisk's room suddenly burst open, literally flying out of the doorway and falling as shards and pieces of broken wood. From the room emerged a very long beast about 10 feet tall and at least 30 feet long. Its lower half of its body was a bright green, and consisted of two small legs that were like those of a rhinoceros, and had a long mermaid tail. Its upper half of its body was blood red, and had long arms with humanoid hands, save for long claws that looked like they could cut through metal. It also had some fins among its body like a fish, and grey broken chains that hung down from its back. Its eyes were aquatic blue, and its mouth was filled with razor-sharp fangs.

The beast walked on all fours out of the room and looked up as it gave a loud and powerful roar, so loud that some of the more fragile glass in the house cracked and in some cases, even completely shattered. Frisk gave a scream and hid behind Asgore. She felt like making friends with that terrifying creature wasn't going to be an option any time soon.

Asgore gave a little tremble before taking his trident in both his hands and standing protectively in front of Frisk. He stood ready to fight as the beast walked into the living room and roared again, Chara following behind it. "What do you think? Pretty impressive, isn't it?" he questioned. "I like to call it 'Neptune's Hound Unbound'."

"Son, you're making a mistake." Asgore said as he continued to stand there, with his trident in hand. "The days of war with the humans is over. Let go of the past."

"DON'T TELL ME TO LET GO OF ANYTHING. I'LL NEVER FORGIVE HUMANITY FOR WHAT IT'S DONE TO ME." Chara answered, losing his cool with what Asgore said. "If you're not going to see things my way and open your eyes, then I suppose I'm going to have to knock you out of my way." He pointed at Asgore and said, "Neptune's Hound!… Dinner time."

The beast gave a growl and then another roar before beginning to charge towards Asgore, its legs pounding against the floor and its claws ripping up parts of the board each time they slammed down unto the floor in the run and came back up for another step. Despite how short the beasts legs were compared to its arms, it was somehow able to run fairly well.

Asgore gave a growl and let a drip of sweat fall down the side of his head as he gripped his trident harder. The beast got within striking distance and raised its arm up, swinging it down with the intention of slashing Asgore. Asgore swung his trident upward and batted the hand away from him, giving a little groan as he did. The beast's physical strength was immense, as Asgore was barely able to bat that attack away.

Seeing an opening as the beast's arm was away from him, Asgore drew his trident back and thrusted it, aiming to strike it in the head. The beast opened its mouth and bit down on the trident, stopping it from moving a single inch. Asgore tried to pull his trident back, but to no avail. Neptune's Hound growled and jerked its head forward, ripping the trident out of Asgore's grip and knocking him down. The hound threw the trident to the floor, where Chara went and grabbed it. "Quite impressed, are you not?"

Asgore growled and got himself back up and drew his hand slowly to the left, allowing more of the fire magic of his to appear in the path that his hand just traveled. He thrusted his hand forward, which sent the fire towards the beast. Said beast, however, opened its large mouth, and a huge torrent of water shot from it mouth. It immediately extinguished the fires as soon as they came into contact with the torrent, which also slammed into the chest of Asgore at amazing force, cracking his armor slightly and sending him hurling back into the wall, slamming into it and almost completely going through it.

"Hahahahahahahahaha!" Chara laughed sinisterly as he knew that while he may not be able to defeat Asgore by himself, he can create beasts and monsters of his own that could crush him without a second thought. "Just as I thought. Even my own father, the mighty Asgore can't stop me now. I am invincible."

"M… my son…" Asgore groaned in pain. "…Why… why are… you… doing this?…"

"It's business, old man." Chara replied as Neptune's Hound was up at him, growling threateningly and having its fingers tap the ground, warning Asgore that it wouldn't hesitate to rip him apart if he moved a muscle. "Now… where were we?" Chara asked as he began approaching Frisk, who only cowered on the ground and began to slowly crawl backwards to get some distance from Chara, knowing that Asgore couldn't save her now.

This time, however, before Chara reached her, he looked up in the sky, as if something was grabbing his attention. "…Hmmm… he's already waking up…" he said with a hum. He looked at Frisk and Asgore. "…Well, looks like I'm going to have to cut our playtime a little short today… how fortunate for you. Looks like you can take a minute or two to remember your payment."

He turned to Neptune's Hound and opened the magic notebook to the page he drew it in and tapped it a couple of times, the beast disappearing into some kind of green and red dust and flowed back to the page of the notebook it was drawn at.

Chara gave a hum and looked at both Asgore and Frisk. "I'll be seeing you both soon enough." he said. "Do tell my mother I said hello… and tell her not to get in my way… I wouldn't want to have to hurt my mother or father anymore than I have to." He gave a laugh and was covered by that dark aura again, and in the blink of an eye, he disappeared.

Frisk remained quiet for a few seconds and looked back at her room. It looked like quite a lot of stuff had burned, but it was clear that the entire room was wet. Seemed like Chara's creation had stopped the fires from spreading any farther.

She looked back to Asgore and ran to him as he forced himself out of the wall and unto the floor. That blast of water had hit him with such incredible force, it would have undoubtedly crushed his entire chest had he not been wearing that suit of armor. "Fr… Frisk…"

"Asgore, wh-what do we do?" she questioned. "He-he's going to come back. He'll be after both of us."

"I… won't allow him to hurt you…" he groaned as he got on his knee and tried to stand up. "Frisk… it's too dangerous for you right now… you need to get out of here, and fast."

"B-but what about you?" Frisk questioned. "If he comes here again, and I'm not here, he's going to get you! He'll try to make you tell him where I am."

"He'd… try to kill me… whether or not you're here with me." he said. "He doesn't just… want you… there's something more he wants…"

"But… where do I go?" she questioned. "I've got nowhere else to go."

"…You… have other friends…" Asgore said with a groan. "…Go to Sans and Papyrus's place… tell them… that I need their help… that we're all in grave danger…"

"But… Asgore, I can't leave you-"

"You have to!" Asgore said firmly, almost in a weak yell. "…You have to go now… you're in too much danger to stay here, and… the two of us… being here at the… same time will put… you in greater danger."

Frisk looked back at the door. She saw the time was five minutes until 11. She didn't want to leave Asgore alone until Toriel came back at around 3 or 4, depending on whether or not she goes to the grocery store after work. "…What about you?" she asked. "…What will you do?"

"I'll… stay here." Asgore says. "…I'll wait for Toriel to come home, and… I'll explain the… situation to her… hopefully we'll be… able to find out… what to do from then."

Frisk gave a sigh and clenched her fist. She didn't want to leave Asgore. Whether or not she showed it, and especially when Toriel might not approve, she saw Asgore as a fatherly figure, and almost thought of him as her own father, just as she thought of Toriel as her mother. "…I'll come back for you." she said with a whisper.

Asgore gave a groan and a nod. "We'll get through this young one… we'll get through this." he said. "Now… go… go!"

Frisk gave a nod and ran out of the house, closing the door behind her and running as fast as she could. Sans and Papyrus's house was about a 1 hour walk away, so she would need to run for a while if she wanted to speed up the process of getting there. All she could really do was just pray that she didn't run into any more problems while she was alone.


	3. Kill or Be Killed

Chapter 3

"Kill or Be Killed"

Asriel woke up in a matter of time, though how much time had passed, he wasn't really sure.

He wasn't really sure where he was earlier. The last thing he remembered was Chara scaring the living daylights out of him back in the Underground, in Toriel's old house, but that wasn't at all where they were. They were in some kind of other building, with Asriel laying in a soft, comfortable bed.

He looked around and took in the environment around him. It was a pretty open space, with not much in it at all. There was his bed, and a few things such as a lamp, two nightstands, one on each side of the bed, a desk with one chair, and a dresser with a TV, Gamecube and Playstation on it. He had no idea where this place was, but he seemed to feel somewhat safe there, if not for the fact that he was alone.

He really didn't want to be alone, especially after what happened earlier, and now that he was at a place he didn't know. He looked around more and more, and not seeing anybody, he decided that he only had one person to call out for. "Ch-Chara?" he questioned as he looked around. There was no answer.

He didn't know whether or not he should be very enthused to be having to spend time with Chara again. It was honestly real nice to know that both of them were alive again, but Chara seemed to have changed drastically. He wasn't really the best person when they were both alive and living with their parents, true, but Asriel could never say that he was that bad.

He gave a little shudder and hugged his blankets close to him as he waited for an answer to his call. Realizing that none was coming, he decided to call out again. "Chara?" he called out, his voice echoing a little bit.

The door opened in response and Chara walked in, with a plate in his hands. He was in the form of himself as a child, the same age as Asriel. "Don't worry, brother. I'm here." he said. He grabbed the chair that was by the desk and dragged it with him as he went to the bed, spinning the chair around and sitting on it so he was facing Asriel.

Asriel looked at the plate that his brother had. On it was a fork and a spoon, as well as two pieces of wheat toast, scrambled eggs, hash browns and a couple slices of bacon. Asriel was starting to get really confused now. The last time that he was awake, Chara was freaking terrifying, and was acting scary as Hell… and now, here he is, being really nice to him again. His brother seemed so inconsistent with his emotions and his actions.

"Listen, bro… I'm… really sorry… about scaring you like that yesterday." Chara said as he sat the plate down on the nightstand. "I… know that I really scared you bad."

"Scared me really bad? You almost gave me a heart attack, Chara." he said. "…You had me terrified."

Chara gave a nod. "Yes… I'm really sorry about that… but I had to show you that I was serious about what I said…" he said as he up his hand on Asriel's shoulder. "Listen, Asriel… I know that you don't understand why I have to do this… and I know I'm not the best brother that you could have asked for… but you're the only one that understands me in anyway at all… you're the only one that, despite everything that's happened, I still deeply care about."

"…I just don't want anybody to get hurt, Chara." Asriel said as he teared up a little bit. "…I don't know what exactly happened to you that made you hate humanity so much… and I know that we've both done some things in our lives… but I don't want it to keep happening… I just want all the pain and suffering to end… I… I want…"

"You always were a crybaby, weren't you, Asriel?" Chara questioned gently with a smile. He hugged Asriel and gently kissed his forehead. He seemed to be quite affectionate with his brother at this time. "You know, one of the reasons that I hate the humans but don't hate the monsters... well, at least not as much… the monsters have a tendency to learn their lessons." he said. "You haven't been around humans like I have… but if you were, you would know that the human race does nothing to ever make the lives of everyone better… in fact, all they do is make their lives worse… when one pain stops, another one is soon to follow… and just as the earth keeps orbiting around the sun, the pain keeps coming back in a never-ending cycle."

"All of humanity can't be that bad…" Asriel said. "I mean… what about Frisk?… Everybody had tried to kill her at some point in her life, and she still befriended all of the monsters in the Underground… even had the heart to forgive me after what I had done…"

Chara gave a sigh and looked down. Asriel was starting to get afraid that he would do that thing with the face again, but instead, Chara just looked back at him and took the plate. He took the fork and got some of the scrambled eggs on it and held it to Asriel's mouth.

"Wh… what are you doing?" Asriel questioned. "I'm… I'm not two-years-old, Chara… I don't need you to feed me."

"Please." Chara said as he continued holding the fork with egg to him. "I want to… after all, you've been through so much Hell because of my actions… you deserve a luxury like this…"

Asriel looked at his brother and looked back at the fork. He didn't really like the idea of being fed by his brother, especially when they were technically the same age, but he knew that Chara really wanted to do it, and he didn't really feel like risking having that scary face incident happen again, so he gave a nod and ate the scrambled egg off the fork. It was actually pretty good.

Chara gave a smile and a nod and continued to slowly feed Asriel as he spoke. "In some retrospect, you might be right… perhaps there really ARE humans in the world that can actually have a heart… but that kind of person I've never met until l fell into the Underground and met you, so if they do exist, I've never met any of them."

Asriel gave a little nod. "Well… I've met you and Frisk… and from what I've seen, humanity can't really be that bad." he said. "I mean… Frisk is one of the best people that I could ever know… and you… well, you're not really the best person admittedly, but that doesn't mean you're not a good person… you still have a heart."

"…Only because I was fortunate enough to meet you, Mother and Father." Chara said. "…I'll put it this way. When I first fell into the Underground, and when you took me with you to live with you and our parents… that was the very first time I had ever felt love in my life." he said. "That was the first time I had felt anything besides despair and hatred… for once, I finally felt like I belonged."

Asriel quietly listened on. He knew that Chara wanted to say more. "Besides… as I said, human beings have a tendency to not learn their lesson." he said. "If, for example, I were to show myself to the monsters of the Underground, and tell them that in exactly fifteen days, I would destroy all of them unless they change their ways and become better people… then I guarantee you, just about every monster would do their best to do so… if, however, I did the same thing with humanity, only instead of giving them fifteen days, I would give them fifteen years, with all that precious time, they would either ignore me or find someone to blame and kill them off."

Asriel looked as Chara had finished feeding him all the egg and gave him the plate. "You can eat the rest on your own, if you want." he said as he stood up and walked over to a window that was there and leaned on the frame of it, staring down.

"…They… wouldn't really do that… would they?" he questioned as he slowly took the fork and began to eat the hash browns.

"…" Chara nodded slowly as he continued to stare down the window. They were in a higher floor of a building, and he watched with disgust as the humans drove in their cars, and walked around as if there wasn't a single thing wrong with them. "…You remember as Flowey… you had that motto of 'kill or be killed', yes?"

"…I don't want to be reminded of that." Asriel said as he looked down. "…I made so many mistakes at that time…"

"If it makes you feel any better… to the very least, you realized that." Chara said with a sigh. "It's just another incident where the humans never learn… they give it their own special fancy names… 'Survival of the Fittest'… 'Natural Selection'… 'Social Darwinism'… they take the scientific truths of the natural world around them, of beasts that have no reason or minds, and they use it as an excuse for their actions… because they're just being the strong ones, and getting rid of all the weak ones."

Chara's voice was tainted with bitter rage and unrestrained disgust as he glanced over at Asriel, and continued to talk of the humans, "If you, my brother, taught all of humanity your slogan of kill or be killed… it wouldn't be anything new to them… that's all they know how to do." he said. "It's all about them… nobody else matters in the world, as long as they get themselves at the top of the food chain, so to say. The richest, the most famous, and the most popular are the ones that win… and all the rest be damned to them."

Asriel cringed a little bit and looked down as he slowly ate the bacon. It really broke his heart to have his brother have that strong of a hatred. He knew that Chara had a strong resentment towards the humans, but until now, when he heard the voice he used when he talked about them, he had no idea just how much he hated them.

"…And that's why I've brought you back." he said as he sat back down with Asriel. "You, my brother… you're so pure… so innocent… you would never purposely hurt anybody, and you just hate to see pain… that's why I want you to help me… together, we can end all the pain in this world… and we… we can make a new world… free from all the suffering that's been brought upon this world."

Asriel looked at him. "…I would love to stop all the pain in the world… I would love to bring it all to a stop… but not by killing all the humans." Asriel said. "…I don't believe what you've told me… there has to be some humans in the world that can change for the better… you just need to give them the chance…"

Chara shook his head. "Sorry, my brother… but I can't accept that… if there were such a thing as a good human, let alone more than one… I would have met them a long time ago… but I haven't… even your friend Frisk isn't safe."

Asriel looked at him. "…Wh… what do you mean?… What are you talking about?"

"…Let's just say that she wasn't always the angel that she is as you know her… at one time, she was a much different person…"

Asriel didn't have any idea what he was talking about, but he didn't really like how he said that. "…So… what am I here for?… What do you want me to do?"

"…You'll find out soon enough, dear brother." Chara said. "…For now, I want you to stay back and just stay safe, alright?… You're the only thing I have left in my life that I truly care about… I couldn't bear it if you got hurt…"

Asriel gave a slow nod and a sigh and looked at Chara. He knew that Chara could be scary and kind of merciless… but he also knew that somewhere, deep down, he still had good in him. He wanted to bring that goodness up in him… he wanted to know that his brother wouldn't hurt anybody.

"I know it's hard for you to understand… but I promise… one day, you'll understand." he said.

"No… I don't want to understand." Asriel said as he suddenly hugged Chara close. "Brother. I don't want you to hurt anybody… why… why can't things go back to the way we were?… Why can't we just play together until supper time and run around outside?… Always getting ourselves into trouble and just having a complete blast… I don't care about revenge… I don't care how bad the humans are, brother… I… I just want my brother back… I want… you to be happy…"

Chara gave a sigh and hugged Asriel close. He wanted to be the dark being that would kill anybody without any problem… but he couldn't… not with Asriel around… he was literally the only thing that kept the First Child from becoming a true demon. He could never just destroy the world when he learned that Asriel was still around in some form… and now that he had used a great deal of power to bring Asriel back… he wasn't strong enough to complete his objective… at least not yet.

"Oh Asriel… IT'S TOO LATE FOR ME…" Chara said, his eyes disappearing for those sockets, but this time, he didn't have that creepy smile at all. Instead, his mouth was in a sad frown. "…I CAN'T GO BACK… THERE'S NO GOING BACK FOR ME… I HAVE TO PLAY THE ROLE THAT I AM ASSIGNED… I'M… SORRY… THAT I HAD TO BRING YOU INTO THIS AS WELL…"

"No, Chara… you know that's not true." Asriel said. "I know there's still good in you… please… just let it free… let go of your anger… let's go home… let's be a family again…"

Chara gave a sigh. He let a single tear escape his socket. He took a few seconds before sighing and closing his eye sockets. He raised his hand as it was covered with a dark aura to give it power, and karate chopped Asriel in the back of the neck, making sure that he aimed right for a pressure point.

Asriel gave a gasp at the hit and immediately began to slip consciousness as he fell forward. The last thing he saw was Chara catching him before he completely fell.

"…Sleep tight, my brother." Chara said as he laid him back down and kissed his forehead gently. "…Stay safe… stay alive… I'll be back here soon…" He stood up, put the chair back at the desk and gave a glance out the window, seeing humanity. He had to remind himself of what he was doing and why he was doing it before he ended up taking Asriel's advice and forgetting his objective. He gave a sigh and a shake of his head as he walked outside. His short fight with Asgore showed that he wasn't at all strong enough to take on Frisk or her friends just yet… he needed more power… he needed the Human Souls.

* * *

Asgore was really starting to wonder if he had made a good decision, having Frisk escape the house all by herself while he was left to tell Toriel what just happened. How the heck could he possibly convince her that he's telling the truth? It's not at all a common thing that someone's long dead son suddenly rises from the dead and summons strange abominations to kill his own parent.

And even if there was a way to get Toriel to believe him, what exactly was he supposed to say to make that happen? He couldn't just go up to her and be like, 'Hey Toriel. Guess what? Our adopted son that's been dead for quite some time came back as a haunting ghost and tried to kill Frisk, who's now on her own in the open to get to Sans and Papyrus's house. How was your day?'

He gave a groan as he was trying to go over all of the mental possibilities of what could possibly happen in his head. He usually wouldn't be so stressed out like this, but this had just escalated to a whole new level. He had absolutely no idea of what he was supposed to do.

He froze when he heard the door open and heard that familiar humming. It was only noon, and Toriel had already arrived home? Oh God, he was not at all ready for this.

"Frisk, I decided to take a little break for lunch." Came Toriel's voice as she walked into the house with arms full of groceries. "How are you and Asgore do-"

She immediately froze up when she saw the state of her house. There was a big hole in the wall with cracks around it, and there were several dents in the floor, with some parts having whole parts of board ripped off. Needless to say, she was not at all very enthused to come home and have this be the very first thing she had to see. She just stood there, processing every bit of her anger as her arms dropped, and the bags of groceries she had fell onto the floor.

"Tori." Asgore said as he began walking to her. "I can explain-"

"What the Hell is this?!" Toriel yelled at him, completely cutting him off. "What the Hell did you do to my house!"

"Tori, calm down." he said, though he knew that wasn't going to be happening any time soon. "I can explain everything. Just sit down, and-"

"Don't you Tori me!" Toriel shouted as she looked around. "Look at what you've done to my house!"

"Tori, please. Let me take a minute to explain what happened-"

"And where's Frisk?!" Toriel gave a growl and walked past Asgore and began to storm into her room. "I swear to God, if you let anything happen to her, I will..."

Asgore remained quiet as he heard Toriel's horrified scream when she came across a door completely broken and shattered, and a room that was burnt and wet. Asgore walked quickly to the room and put his hand on Toriel's shoulder. "Tori, listen to me."

"You son of a bitch!" Toriel shouted as she turned around and was ready to kill him. "What the Hell did you do with Frisk?! I swear, if you did anything to hurt her, I will smack you so hard, you'll be seeing stars for a week!"

"Toriel, please give me a minute to explain what happened." Asgore said as he had his hands on her shoulder. "Listen, everything was going just fine in this house, until-"

"Until what?! You decided to throw a huge tantrum and destroy my entire house?! You had one simple job! Look after Frisk!"

"Toriel, listen to me. I'm trying to tell you that-"

"You don't tell me anything!" Toriel yelled at him. She was pissed, and she didn't care whether or not he liked it. "This is exactly the kind of shit I left you for! Every single time you can't control your anger-"

"Toriel!" Asgore yelled as he gripped her shoulders a bit tighter. "He's back!"

"What are you talking about?!" Toriel yelled. "What do you mean HE?!"

"Our son." Asgore said. "Toriel... Chara is back."

These words that the king of the monsters said immediately made Toriel go quiet. She felt like she hadn't heard him right... or that he was just saying that to get her to stop yelling... "Wh..." she started as she looked at him in the eyes, trying to find any hint of lying. She had been with Asgore long enough to be able to look for any signs in his eyes to see if he was telling the truth or not. "...What did you just say?"

Asgore gave a sigh and looked at Toriel's eyes. "Tori... our son, Chara... he's back... he came here about an hour and a half or so ago... he's the reason that your house is in a bad condition right now..."

Toriel kept looking into those eyes, trying to find that one moment where he looked away from her eyes, or looked down at something, but he kept his eyes straight into hers. There was no obvious sign at the moment that he was lying to her. "...Ch... Chara is dead..." she said and looked down. "...He died from his sickness... he's gone..."

"...No, Tori... he's not." Asgore said. He sighed and decided that it was best to start from the beginning. "I had talked with Frisk for a little bit when I first arrived, and she ended up falling asleep... I took her to her room and I went back to the living room and checked out some of your books... I read a bit of _To Kill a Mockingbird_ , and I really have to say, it's quite a good book... though they keep saying this one word that I don't know what it means... I think it goes along the lines of ni-"

"Asgore." Toriel said a bit impatiently. "...What happened."

"Huh?... Oh, right. Sorry." he said as he cleared his throat. "So I sat in the living room and read _To Kill a Mockingbird_ for about and hour or so... when I suddenly heard Frisk screaming for help... I ran to her room as fast as I could, and when I got to her... I saw... him..."

"...Chara..." she said and looked at him. "...You saw Chara?..."

"...Yes... he was different though." Asgore said. "...He wasn't the same boy that we raised... he was... much darker... filled with hate..."

"...And what did you do?" Toriel questioned. "...What did you do when you saw him?"

"...He was... trying to take... Frisk's soul." Asgore said as he shuddered at the memories of what ensued. "...He kept saying that he and Frisk had some kind of deal... he was going to take Frisk's soul... I knew that Chara wasn't the same boy that we raised... I couldn't let Frisk get hurt like that, and I had my hand on my trident... so... I had to make a decision... and I did what I had to." He gave a sigh as he looked at the burnt window curtains.

"...You... you attacked him..."

"...I set him on fire with one of my spells of fire, which is why the room is burnt." he said. "...I... I didn't want to hurt him... but he didn't leave me any choice..." Toriel looked down and gave a sigh as Asgore continued on.

"I got Frisk out of the room... and I knew I should have gotten her out of here then and there when I had the chance... but my curiosity got the best of me... I had to know if Chara and Frisk had somehow met before... I had to know what deal Chara was referring to... she said that she had no idea what he was talking about, and that they never met before... I chose to believe her and was about to investigate on... but before I could, we heard the door break down." he said, pointing at the wooden shards of the door that laid on the ground.

"As we stood there and saw the door break down, Chara walked out again, and he had... some kind of monster with him." he continued. "It was a large beast with green and red... it had sharp claws that pierced the floor while it charged at me... i tried to hold it back... I tried to use my fire magic on it... but it shot a huge blast of water at me... I was sent flying into the wall..."

"Asgore... what about Frisk?" Toriel questioned. "Did... did Chara..."

"No." Asgore said with a shake of his head. "Chara left for some reason before he could do any more harm to either of us... I told Frisk to leave and head for Sans and Papyrus's house... I stayed behind to tell you what happened."

"You... you let Frisk go out by herself?" Toriel questioned. "Wh... what if Chara went to find her?"

"She would be in a lot less danger out there than she would be in here." Asgore said. "If she stayed here with me, there's no doubt that Chara would come back and get both of us... if I got her out of here and moved her elsewhere, there's less of a chance that Chara would be able to find her." he said. "Besides, somebody had to stay behind to tell you what happened. You couldn't just come in here and not know what exactly happened."

Toriel gave a sigh and went to the kitchen. Asgore followed her to see what she was going for. She went to the cabinet and opened the drawer, taking out a few pieces of paper and began to glance through them. "...The monster that Chara had... what did you say it looked like again?"

"It... it was a monster that... looked like some kind of cross between... uh... a mermaid... and a kind of sea serpent... it had a green lower body and a red upper body... uh... Chara called it 'Neptune's Hound'."

"Hmmm... Neptune's Hound..." Toriel muttered quietly as she looked through the papers. They seemed to be drawings of some sort. She stopped when she got to a certain page and looked at Asgore. "...This one? Right here?" she questioned as she showed him a piece of paper with a poorly done crayon drawing of the exact beast that Asgore got done describing. It had Neptune's Hound written in black crayon right under it.

"Y-yes! That's exactly what it looked like! Only it was real, and not as poorly drawn..." Asgore said as he looked at her. "Wh... where did you get that?"

"...Chara drew it for me a while ago, when he and Asriel were still alive." she said as she looked at the drawing. "...Asgore... we need to go, now."

"Go?" Asgore questioned. "And do what, Tori?"

"I don't know... just something!" Toriel said as she looked at the picture. "Get back to Frisk, find Chara... just... something... we have to do something."

"...I know, Toriel." Asgore as he hugged her close and rubbed her back, just like he used to do when they were married. To his relief, Toriel didn't really object to the hug at all. "...You're right... we can't just stay here and let these things happen..."

"...I've lost to of my children already." Toriel said as she began to get a little choked up. "...My little Asriel... my Chara... I'm not going to lose another child." She pulled out of Asgore's embrace and began walking. "Come on, let's go. Grab your trident."

"My trident?" Asgore questioned as he followed her. "Why? Where are we going?"

"Where else? We're going to go find Frisk, of course."

"But why would I need my trident for that?" Asgore questioned.

"Because if what you said about meeting Chara and how he acted is true, there's a chance he's looking for Frisk right now, and we may run into him on our way to Sans and Papyrus's house." Toriel said. "Do you REALLY want to be going up against that monster again without any way to defend yourself other than a type of magic that it can easily defend itself against?"

"...Yeah, that's a good point." Asgore said as he went over and grabbed his trident. "Alright, so after we find Frisk, what do we do after that?"

"I don't know!" Toriel said as she walked out the door. "We'll figure it out when we get to that point! Come on!"

Asgore gave a little groan and put the trident under his cloak again and ran out to catch up with Toriel. "Hey! Tori! Wait for me!"


	4. Cooking With the Bone Heads

Chapter 4

Cooking With the Bone Heads

"Sans!" Papyrus yelled as he was standing, pointing at a sock by the stairway, while his brother, Sans, lounged around of the couch with his phone, making bad puns related to skeletons on Facebook and posting a bunch of comments on that post, all of them just saying 'so cool'. "How many times must I ask you to pick up your sock?"

"What're ya talking about?" Sans questioned as he continued to chuckle as he continued to post the same comment on his own post over and over and over again. "I picked it up two days ago when you first asked me to, remember?"

"No! I mean pick it up and move it!" Papyrus shouted. "You picked it up and just put it right back where it was!"

"I did too move it." Sans said. He didn't seem at all stressed or concerned about what Papyrus was telling him. "I moved it exactly one and a half inches from its original spot to the spot that it's in now."

"Will you just pick up your sock, and move it to your room?!" Papyrus yelled. "And DON'T bring it back to this spot!"

"Meh, maybe later." he said lazily. "I'm busy right now."

"No you're not!" Papyrus shouted as he was being driven insane by Sans's lazy habits. "You're so lazy, Sans!"

There was a knock on the door. "Ugh... Sans, can you get that?" Papyrus asked.

"Uh... why would I do that?" Sans questioned as he remained on the couch. "You're already up anyway, and you're closer to the door."

"Oh come on. Can't you get off the couch for five seconds just to open the door?" Papyrus questioned.

"'Ey, 'ey, 'ey." Sans said. "Papyrus... let me put it like this... I get two legal breaks from my two jobs. I've only got a limited time before I have to get back to work. Five seconds to get up and answer the door would be... five seconds that I take away from my break. I work really hard to earn all these breaks I get, and I want to be able to have every second of it."

"My God, Sans. You're soooooo lazy." Papyrus said as he groaned as he opened the door. "Oh! Frisk! We weren't expecting you here." he said cheerfully as he saw Frisk standing there by the door. "What can I do for-"

He didn't know what to think as Frisk began to cry loudly and hugged Papyrus's legs. Hearing the crying, even Sans couldn't help but look away from his phone and look at her. "...You." Papyrus finished as she continued to cry.

"Frisk?" Sans questioned as he sat up on the couch. He didn't really get up, but to the very least he did move a little bit. "What's going on? What are you doing here?"

"H-help me! Please help me!" Frisk said as she looked up at Papyrus with tears streaming down. "Asgore and I! W-we were attacked! W-we almost got killed! We-"

"Hey, hey, calm down human child." Papyrus said as he put his hand on her shoulder. "It's alright, you're safe here with us... where's Asgore right now?"

"I... I don't know." she said. "He told me to come here after the attack... he said that it wasn't safe for me... that Chara would come back and find me if I didn't come here."

"Who's Chara?" Sans questioned. The name sounded familiar, but he couldn't say for sure.

"He... he was the one that attacked Asgore and I... I don't know what to do... I..." She gave a cry and snuggled close to Papyrus.

Papyrus gave a sigh and petted her hair gently. "It's alright, Frisk... we're not going to let anybody hurt you." he said as he opened the door a bit wider. "Come on in. You look like you could really use a place to rest."

Frisk gave a slow nod and thanked Papyrus as she slowly walked in, her shoes filthy and her legs obviously sore. "...Did you walk the whole way here by yourself?" he questioned.

Frisk looked down and nodded in response. "I had no other way to get here." she said. "I didn't know anybody that could have driven me here, and I don't have anything else to get here..."

"You had no other way to get here?" Papyrus questioned as he had her sit on the chair. "That's at least an hour's walk... why didn't you just give a call to us? I would have been more than willing to drive you over here if you'd just ask."

Frisk remained quiet for a couple seconds as she sit there, getting her shoes off. "I... I didn't think about that." she said honestly. "I was in such a panic, and I knew I had to get here... I didn't think about that..."

Sans gave a sigh and stood up. "Well... to the very least, I can give a call to Toriel, tell her that you're here with us." he said as he looked at the clock. "...In the meantime, why don't you get the kid a bowl of spaghetti or something, Papyrus? She's probably starving." To this, Frisk couldn't really hide her shudder. She had remembered tasting Papyrus's cooking once before on their 'date', and the taste of it was indescribable. There were no words to describe how awful it tasted... but she was able to choke it down so Papyrus's feelings wouldn't be hurt.

"Alrighty then!" Papyrus said pretty happily. He was happy to be with Frisk again. "You wait right here while I start making the food, Frisk. My culinary art skills have improved quite a lot, and I'm sure that you'll fine your pasta to be almost as great as me. Nyeh heh heh heh heh!"

Both Sans and Frisk watched as Papyrus walked into the kitchen to get started. Sans looked back to Frisk and apologized, saying, "I'm sorry I gotta put you through with that... hopefully his cooking is actually edible this time around." he said as he got the phone and dialed the number and waited for someone to pick up.

"Uh... which button do you press to answer this thing?" came Asgore's voice as he continued to press the buttons of the phone. "Hellooo?"

"Asgore." Sans said. "Where's Toriel? Is she ok?"

"Hellooooooo?" Asgore said again as more button presses were heard. At this rate, he's going to press the button to end the call.

"Uh... Asgore-"

"Gah. Cursed device." Asgore said. "It doesn't work at all like Toriel said."

Sans gave a groan and pinched the bridge of his nose... which he didn't really have.. Asgore must not have had the phone to his ear. "You don't need to press anything, Asgore." he said, making sure he was louder so Asgore could hear him. "You already answered it."

"Oh." came Asgore's voice as he nodded. "Ah, there you are. I was wondering why this thing wasn't answering."

"Uhh... you already..." Sans started. "...Ah never mind. Where's Toriel? Is she around?"

"Uh... yeah, she is. I can get her for you if you want."

"No, that won't be necessary." Sans said. "I just wanted to make sure that she was alright, and she was somewhere where you could easily tell her that we call-"

It was too late, however, and Sans could hear Asgore calling out for Toriel. "Toriel! Sans is on the phone!" he called out to her.

"Sans is on the phone?!" came Toriel's voice in the background. "Here! Give me the phone! Let me talk to him!"

"Hold on, Tori. I want to talk to him too."

"I have to find out if my child is safe! Give me the freaking phone!"

"But i want to know if she's safe too. I want to talk to Sans too."

"Oh... alright, fine. Just put it on speaker."

"Alright... uh..." There was a bit of a pause and Sans gave a little roll of his eyes. At this rate, he wouldn't be able to tell anything to them.

"...Come on! Put it on speaker!" Toriel's voice was heard.

"How do I put it on speaker?" came Asgore's voice.

"Oh my God." Toriel said. "How do you not know how to put a phone on speaker?!"

"I've never used one of these things before." Asgore said defensively. "You can't expect me to know all of these things."

"Oh for the love of... here. Let me see that."

Sans just gave a sigh and facepalmed. He was trying to tell them a very serious issue, and the two of them were trying to figure out how to put the phone on speaker. " _At this rate, I'm going to be ancient by the time they figure out how to work that thing..._ " he quietly thought to himself. Sans usually wasn't this serious, but if this situation was as big as he thinks it is, then he has to take it seriously.

Eventually Toriel's voice came on. "Hello?" she questioned. "Sans? Are you there?"

"I think so..." Sans said in a bit of a bored matter as he looked at the clock, checking to see how many minutes that took. "Did you find out how to put the phone on speaker now?"

There was a bit of an awkward silence that came up from that. Sans could mentally picture Toriel just staring at Asgore, impatiently waiting for him to give an answer. "...Oh... uh..." Asgore said, obviously trying to think of something to change the subject. "...You... were calling us about something?"

"Uh... yeah." Sans said, deciding to just ignore the question he asked a little bit ago. "Uh... I'm calling to let you know that Frisk just arrived at our house."

"She did?!" Toriel's voice came. "Is my child alright?!"

"Uh... yeah, she's alright, I think... she walked the entire way here, and... she's pretty tired... obviously pretty scared as well."

"Put her on the phone then!" Toriel exclaimed. "Let us talk to her!"

"Alright, alright." Sans said as he gave a groan at how loud Toriel was at the moment, and walked over to Frisk. "Uh... here, it's Asgore and Toriel." he said. "You... might want to hold the phone a little bit away from your ear."

"Thank you." Frisk said as she took the phone, not really sure what Sans meant by wanting to hold the phone a bit away from her ear. She put it right to her ear and watched as Sans just shook his head and leaned against the wall, just waiting for Frisk to find out what he was talking about. "...Hello?"

"FRISK!" Toriel's voice blasted through the phone. The sudden loud yell caused Frisk to accidentally toss the phone up in the air. It fell and she tried to catch it, the phone bouncing up her hands in a juggle after each attempt, like a cartoon.

After a couple of seconds, Frisk was able to catch the phone and held it to her ear again, but made sure that she had a couple inches of distance. "Told you." Sans said with a roll of his eyes.

Frisk gave a nod and Toriel's voice continued to blast through the phone. "Oh Frisk! I'm so glad to hear you're ok!"

Asgore's voice was then heard, filled with the same relief and joy, but luckily not as loud and flamboyant as Toriel's. "It's so great to know you're ok, child. Did you have any complications getting to Sans's house?"

"No." Frisk said with a shake of her head. "I'm really tired, but... I didn't run into anybody while getting there." Frisk said. "I'm in the house right now... Papyrus is cooking some spaghetti for me right now."

There was a bit of silence. "...You... you're letting Papyrus cook for you?" Asgore questioned.

"...Is... is that a bad thing?" Toriel questioned.

"Uh... have you ever had Papyrus's cooking before?" Asgore questioned.

"I did... a couple of times." Frisk said with a hum. She gave a shudder as she remembered the flavor of the spaghetti that Papyrus had cooked her for their 'date'. The taste of it was so indescribably bad, that it couldn't even be put into words. "I... I'm sure that it's better than it was at that time, Asgore. I mean, Sans himself said that his cooking had gotten much better since we came here."

She then looked at Sans to make sure she was right about that. "...Well..." he said with a little shrug. "It's... semi-edible."

Frisk gave a shudder and a little groan, quiet enough that neither Asgore nor Toriel didn't hear her on the phone. "I just hope you're right on that." Asgore said as he went on. "I remember Papyrus once cooking for me while he and Undyne were once training, to test out what Papyrus had learned in his cooking lessons with Undyne. The taste of it was... I can't even describe it. Like... that one time where I ate that butterscotch cinnamon pie that had buttercups instead of cups of butter... I got sick for a few days from that, but Papyrus's spaghetti... that was even worse than that. I was sick for about a week or so."

The descriptions were not at all helping Frisk, as she began to slowly dread more and more how the cooking might turn out, from a combination of past experiences, Sans saying that Papyrus's cooking was only semi-edible now, and Asgore's story of bad pasta making him more sick than a piece of pie that poisoned him. She literally felt some bile coming up from her stomach with just the mere thought, and had to cover her mouth to keep herself from getting sick.

She was able to choke back the vomit and tried to sound as non disturbed and optimistic as possible. "I... I'm sure it will be fine." she said.

"Well... alright." Asgore said. "...Do you mind if we speak to Sans for a bit?"

"No... not at all." Frisk said, trying to erase the thoughts of possibly poisonous spaghetti out of her head.

"Are you ok?" Sans questioned as Frisk was lowering the phone from her ear. "You seem a little... green right now."

"Yes, I'm fine." she lied as she gave a groan and held the phone up to Sans. "Mom and Asgore want to talk to you."

Sans gave a nod and looked at Frisk again and pointed his finger to his left. "Bathroom's over there, if you need it."

"Thank you." Frisk said as she hurriedly got up from the chair and ran to the bathroom.

Sans gave a sigh and sat on the chair that Frisk had just gotten up from and put the phone to his nonexistent ear. "What can I do for you now?" he questioned. "If it involves telling you about a function of the phone, I'm afraid I can't help you there."

"Sans, call Undyne and Alphys." Toriel said. "Asgore and I are coming over."

"Coming to my house? Why?" Sans questioned. "I don't know if we have enough room to accommodate for seven people at a time."

"Sans, we need to come up with a plan." Asgore said. "All of us, especially Frisk, are in grave danger now that Chara is back and looking for her."

"Chara?" Sans questioned. He looked up and crossed his legs as he tried to remember where he had just heard that name not too long ago. "Chara... Chara... oh, right! He's the one that attacked Frisk earlier, huh?"

"Yes, that's him." Toriel said. "We need to have a plan to keep Chara from getting to Frisk. I can't have my child hurt by him."

"But why Frisk?" Sans questioned. "What exactly did Frisk do to this Chara character to have him go out after her?"

"We don't know... he claims that she and her made a deal, but Frisk says that the two of them had never met until now..." Asgore said. "...We'll explain everything when we get there. Just make sure Frisk stays safe."

Sans gave a nod. "I'll leave a call to Undyne and Alphys." he said. "If this Chara fellow shows up at any time, I'll make sure he has a really bad time." He hung up the phone with that message and put the phone back.

He would give the call to the others later. He decided while Frisk was in the bathroom, he would take a look in the kitchen, make sure that Papyrus was doing ok. "Better make sure Papyrus isn't smashing the tomatoes all over the wall again." he said as he opened the door to the kitchen.

He saw that little white Annoying Dog that somehow gets into the house an awful lot running around the kitchen, with one of Papyrus's bones from his bone collection in its mouth. Papyrus chased it all around, holding a wooden spoon in his right hand while his left hand was pointing at the dog. "Catch that meddlesome canine!"

Sans was thinking about helping Papyrus out, but decided against it as he didn't feel like having to run for the dog. He instead just watched the dog as it ran past Sans, escaping with yet another one of Papyrus's bones. "Curses!" Papyrus exclaimed. "How dare that dog steal another one of my bones!"

Sans gave a hum. "Yes... quite the slippery dog." he said with a hum as he saw his trombone leaning against the wall in there. "Well... you know what that means." he said as he took the trombone and got the mouthpiece to his lips.

"Sans... I'm warning you right now." Papyrus said. "Don't you even dare think about playing that incidental musi-"

Sans blew him off, however, as he began to play a wamp-wamp-wamp with his trombone. "Oh... you know I hate it when you do that."

"Oh? Is that so?" Sans questioned. "So you're saying that you don't find my actions... humerus?" He chuckled at his pun.

Papyrus gave a groan. He looked back at the door and saw Frisk just standing at the doorway. "Frisk!" he said. "You should be sitting down and resting. You're pretty worn out from the walk here."

"Yes... but... I was... a... wondering..." Frisk said as she looked at the wooden spoon in Papyrus's hand. "Uh... we... haven't hung out in quite some time... so... I was wondering... do you think... I could... cook with you?" she questioned.

Papyrus looked at her for a minute before giving his chuckle. "Nyeh heh heh! That sounds like a splendid idea!" he said happily. "You'll get a little culinary lesson from I, Master Chef Papyrus! I'll go get the cooking utensils now!" He went over to the covers to get some things he'd need to cook spaghetti.

Sans gave a hum and whispered in Frisk's ear. "Good move. Maybe if you're cooking with him, the food won't taste so bad."

Frisk gave a nod. That was her plan and her hope. She didn't really feel like getting sick because of eating a plate spaghetti.

Papyrus came back with a chef's hat and a couple pots. "Alright. Now gather around, and watch I, Master Chef Papyrus, conjure a serving of pasta like never before! Nyeh heh heh heh!"

"That's for damn sure." Sans muttered under his breath.

"Alright. First and foremost, we'll start with the sauce." Papyrus said as he got a big mixing bowl. "Of course, to start any great spaghetti sauce, we need our ingredients." He took out a bunch of things, only a couple of them looking like they should ever go into a spaghetti sauce. "Let's see... tomatoes... herbs, for extra flavor and fanciness... wood shavings, for extra texture... chalk, to add in some calcium to build strong bones... cleaned snail shells, to give it that elegant crunch and meaty taste, and finally some sour cream, to make sure it's nice and thick."

Frisk gave a groan when she heard the ingredients. She felt like she could be sick at that very moment. "Alright then! Let's get started on the sauce!"

"Uh... maybe you should let the kid take care of the sauce." Sans said. "You know... have a shot at making her own sauce."

"And why is that, Sans?" Papyrus questioned.

"Well you know, your cooking is just so... well... 'awesome and cool'... but perhaps Frisk has different tastes than we all do." Sans said. "You know... with us being skeletons and her being a human, we don't know if she likes the same flavors that we do... so if she's going to eat this, perhaps she should have a chance to make something of it that she would like."

Frisk looked at Sans. Considering there were such things as butterscotch, fries and burgers in the Underground, the tastes of humans and monsters couldn't have been that different... but then again, if it got her out of having to choke down spaghetti made of chalk and snail shells, she would play along.

"Hmmmm... that wouldn't make much sense to me, since she seems to really like my cooking..." Papyrus said, which kind of made Frisk regret pretending she loved his cooking those times. "...But then again, perhaps I could get a taste of what human spaghetti tastes like... yes, that's a good idea, Sans. We'll let Frisk make the sauce."

Frisk looked at the ingredients. "...Uh... I... don't know how to make spaghetti sauce." she said with a look down and a bit of an embarrassed blush to be put on the spotlight like that.

"Oh, you don't?" Sans questioned. "Well, no worries then. I came prepared." He went into a drawer and pulled out a container of Prego spaghetti sauce.

"What?!" Papyrus exclaimed as he looked at Sans. "Store bought spaghetti sauce?! What sort of prank are you pulling on me?!"

"Relax, bro." Sans said as he put the container on the counter. "I got that in the event of me having to eat here while you weren't around. I'm sure it tastes just the same as the sauce you make."

To that Papyrus lost his anger and only chuckled. "Oh, Sans. Ignorant in the arts of cooking." he said. "One day, I hope you'll be able to find that food has much better taste when you put more work into it... however, for the sake of trying what human spaghetti tastes like, and since my good friend doesn't know how to make spaghetti sauce, I, Master Chef Papyrus, will allow it just this one time."

Frisk gave a nod and mouthed a thank you to Sans when Papyrus wasn't looking. Sans just gave a nod and a little wink as he looked at Papyrus. "Alright, since we got the sauce already prepared, how about we move on to the pasta?"

"Yes, of course!" he said and walked and began to fill the pot with water. "The pasta is just as important as the sauce. For without the pasta, what would the spaghetti sauce have to share its flavor with?" He got the pot to the stove and began to heat the water. "We let the water boil for a while. Meanwhile, I'll get the noodles that we'll be using."

Sans nodded and watched Papyrus go into the pantry. "...So... how've you been doing kid?" he questioned. "You know... aside from having some some psychopath chasing out at you for no reason... how's life been so far?"

"Well... not too good, really." Frisk said. "I've been having a bunch of nightmares that have been leading up to Chara attacking me today... I haven't really been doing very good at school, because I can't keep awake at school."

"School? What do you need school for?" Papyrus said and turned to her. "I mean, I never went to school, and look at me. I'm a genius!"

"Papyrus, you couldn't even solve a Junior Jumble puzzle to save your life." Sans said.

"Those puzzles are extremely difficult! You remember the human saying that jumbo was much harder than crossword!"

"Riiiiight... how could I forget?" Sans said with a roll of his eyes.

Papyrus came back with a couple boxes of angel hair pasta. "Now, unlike the spaghetti sauce, I've found that homemade pasta has no significant differences when compared to the store bought pasta, so the pasta is fine to use store bought."

"Thank God." Frisk muttered as she gave a sigh of relief.

"What was that?" Papyrus questioned as he looked at Frisk.

"Uhh... nothing." she said with a shake of her head. "Nothing."

Papyrus gave a nod. "Alright then. We'll let the water boil so that it's ready for the pasta... uh.. let's see..."

Frisk gave a hum. "...We could make a few meatballs to put into the spaghetti." she suggested.

"Meatballs?" Papyrus questioned. "...What are meatballs?"

"Uh... they're these balls of meat that go with spaghetti sauce." Frisk said. "They're really good."

"Ah. A new addition to spaghetti? That sounds like an excellent idea!" Papyrus exclaimed and then went to the fridge to look for some meats. "And what kind of meat do they use for meatballs? Dog? Cat? Snail?"

"...Uh... I don't know... ground beef?" Frisk questioned.

"Beef, hm?... What animal do you get beef from?"

"Uh... never mind with the meatballs." Frisk said as she sat down. "I'm sure that it will be just fine without them."

"Alright then. Sans. Why don't you see if the water is done boiling while I start heating up this store bought spaghetti sauce?" Papyrus said. "...Sans?..."

When Papyrus and Frisk looked, they saw Sans with his head down on the table with his eyes closed, taking a nap. "...Sans! You can't be serious!" Papyrus shouted. "Sleeping while I, the great Papyrus, am trying to give you and Frisk a lesson in culinary arts?!"

Frisk just gave a sigh and shook her head. She honestly couldn't wait until Asgore and Toriel get there.


	5. Having a Real Bad Time

Chapter 5

Having a Real Bad Time

Many people were huddled in a corner of the clothing store and cowering close to each other, huddling to their family and friends holding each other close. Nobody dared to say a word or make a single movement whatsoever.

Standing at a mirror, Chara was trying on a couple outfits to see if any of them would fit his tastes. He was getting sick and tired of wearing his same old shorts and shirt every time, so he wanted to get a couple new outfits for himself and seeing what works for him and what doesn't. Standing by him and waiting patiently was Neptune's Hound, who kept its eyes moving from time to time as it looked on for any sudden movements, its tail slowly raising up and falling back to the floor from time to time.

Chara stood in the mirror, staring and inspecting his child body as he was wearing a black and red striped tuxedo with a black tie to match with that. He gave a hum as he turned around and inspected the back of him in the mirror before turning back to look at the front. "...Very fashionable... obviously a good look on me... though I'm not 100% sure if it's the kind of suit I would want to wear..."

Neptune's Hound just gave a little growl and its fins kind of rose a little bit. It was starting to get impatient with its master. Even when serving a demonic figure, there was only so much the beast could handle before it started to get agitated.

"Oh, fine, we'll get going. Just... give me a second, ok?" Chara said as he began to put the tuxedo off and change back into his usual shorts and shirt. He gave a hum and folded the tuxedo back neatly and put it in a bag that had a number of other clothes in. "Alright... uh... got some clothes for me... uh... you got the clothes for yourself?"

Neptune's Hound's eyes widened for a second as it heard Chara said that. It didn't want to have Chara dress it up in any clothes. It gave a growl to Chara, which made the demonic child chuckle. "Relax. I'm just messing with you." he said as he patted the beast's scaly head. The beast seemed to calm down and gave a little nod. It glanced back to the people in the corner and then looked back at Chara.

"...Yes, I suppose we should be going now, shouldn't we?" he questioned as he took the bag of clothes into his hand. "Alright, come on. Let's go." He walked with the beast and almost left before looking back at the clerk, who was quietly quivering behind the counter.

"Oh... I almost forgot." he said as he reached into his pocket and walked to the counter, putting aa couple pieces of gold on there. He didn't like to have to pay any human being and feed their greed, but he wasn't really in the mood for stealing anything. So he just decided to pay, and let him keep the change, knowing the gold was worth a lot in the human world. "Here. Go buy yourself a better perfume." he said as he and Neptune's Hound walked out.

He gave a hum and gave the bag to Neptune's Hound, sliding it by the handles onto its tail. "Here. Take these back to the room. I'll go by myself and be back whenever I can." he said. "...And if Asriel's awake, make sure he doesn't eat all my Hershey's, would you? I want to have some chocolate left for me when I get back." Neptune's Hound gave a nod as it began its walk with the bag on its tail, trying to see if there was a large body of water it could find to swim in to get there, as it could theoretically swim much faster than it could walk.

Chara nodded and remained for a couple of seconds to make sure that Neptune's Hound knew what direction to walk before turning around and beginning to walk on the sidewalk. He whistled and whistled quite a bit as he eventually got to a place where nobody could see him, and turned into a shadow as he instantly traveled to Toriel's house. "Time to reclaim my debt." he said as he appeared in Frisk's room.

He was a bit surprised and taken aback to see that she wasn't there. "...Where did she go?" she questioned as he began to walk around the house, looking for her, or anybody. Nobody seemed to be there. Even Asgore was gone, and he couldn't find him anywhere he went. "...Damn it... they must have gotten out of here to prevent me from finding them." he said as he gave a sigh and sat down, trying to think of a place where they possibly could have gone.

He had checked the bathrooms, the kitchen, the living room, and even the basement, but he didn't find a trace of either of them. He checked the home phone to see if perhaps there were any calls made on or received by the phone that could lead him to the right direction, but there were no recent calls. He had scoured every inch of the house to see if somebody had left a note that told where they went, but all he found was a note written from Toriel that had told Frisk that she would be staying home that day and Asgore would be there to watch her.

Chara gave a sigh. He didn't have any way to be able to sense Frisk at the moment... he had no idea of knowing where exactly she had gone... unless he could create some assistance for himself. With that in mind, he took that magic notebook he had from So Sorry and began to draw it. After he drew the thing he had wanted, he listed a couple of abilities and powers that the creature would have.

After he had completely drawn the creature and was satisfied with the powers he had written in there, he gave a hum and began to mutter something at the page. In a matter of seconds, out of the page came a little black cloaked being without legs, basically like a ghost. The only thing it had aside from the black ghastly body was a single, glowing red eye on the left side of its face.

"Alright, Illusionare... let's see if you turned out correctly." he said as he stood up. He then walked out to find a picture of Toriel, the creature floating with him. He found a picture of Toriel and held it for the creature to see. "Transform into Toriel." Chara commanded.

The being closed its one eye, and its body began to distort and wave around. In a matter of seconds, the creature had now become an exact replica of Toriel. "...Attack me with one of Toriel's fire spells." Chara commanded. The creature that now looked like Toriel obeyed and sent small flurry of fire at Chara, which he was able to dodge with relative ease.

Chara gave a nod. "Alright... now let's see how this does you." he said as he took out a real knife and hit the creature right in the chest. As it got hit, the illusion began to wave off and wear away, and the creature was now floating there again, though the illusion gone, the being had taken no damage at all.

"Hmmm... you take no damage, but if you're hit hard enough or too many times with the illusion up, it will wear away." Chara said with a nod. "You seem to be able to copy the abilities of anyone you become quite well... perfect... you'll do just nicely."

He then found a picture of Frisk and held it to the being. "You see this girl?" he questioned as he handed the picture to Illusionare, who took the picture and stared at it with its one visible eye. "Search around the city, and find this girl. Take whatever disguises you have to to make sure you're not discovered... report back to me when you have a whereabout of her location."

Illusionare gave a nod and a little bow as it flowed out of the house and began its search. Remembering what Chara had mentioned about not being discovered by anyone, the creature decided to make itself appear as whatever was one of the first things it saw. It looked around outside, and the first thing that caught its eye was a red cardinal, flying onto the branch of a tree, perhaps searching for something to feed on.

Illusionare stared quietly at the bird, impressed at the thing's pleasant appearance before looking down and closing its eye as it had found what it was going to disguise itself as. It soon had changed itself into a cardinal just like the one it had seen flying into the tree, and began to fly up in the air, searching to see if it could find the girl in the photo that Chara had given it.

It first flew all around the sky, seeing if it could find the girl outside. It flew all around the place, from street to street, in a constant flight, but no sight of the child was found.

Seeing that she wasn't outside at all, Illusionare decided that it was going to have to check in a couple buildings. It went from house to house, changing forms through every house depending on the things that it saw in the houses. It changed into flies, mice, spiders, and other creatures that were common in the different homes that wouldn't draw too much attention. It had gone to at least 20 different houses in a matter of 30 minutes, working as hard and as fast as it could to try to find Frisk.

It eventually it came to the house of Sans and Papyrus, and was about to slip in, but noticed that it could look in a window without going in. It took a glance at the window, and saw Sans, Papyrus and Frisk right off the bat.

"Hmmm... while I, Master Chef Papyrus, could definitely make a lot better..." Papyrus said as he twirled some more of the spaghetti onto his fork. "...I cannot deny, even with store bought spaghetti sauce, these humans have impressive knowledge in making bowls of pasta."

"Yeah. See what I told you? It didn't turn out too bad, now did it?" Sans said as he ate some more of the spaghetti. He was just happy that he could eat some pasta that didn't taste worse than what somebody could buy at a Dollar Store for a little less than a dollar.

Frisk nodded and quietly ate the spaghetti, blissfully unaware of the spy that was watching her. The Illusionare, giving a nod as it had found the girl it had looked for, took the form of the cardinal again and flew back to Toriel's house. It got at the window and saw Chara sitting there, looking in the fridge. "Hmmm... no chocolate." he said with a disappointed sigh. "...Man, things have really been going downhill with Mom if she's not even buying any chocolate now..."

He looked and saw the cardinal fly over to him and stood by him. "...Oh, screw off, you dumb bird." he said as he smacked the bird away. After the smack, the illusion wore off and Illusionare was completely visible.

"Oh... you even had me fooled." Chara said with a hum. "You found her, I take it?" The creature gave a nod and went to his side, beginning to whisper something quietly to him.

"...Alright then. I'll head there immediately. Good work." Chara said as he got Illusionare back into the notebook and remained quiet for a couple seconds as he was getting ready to travel.

In a matter of seconds, he appeared inside Papyrus's room. He gave a hum and looked around. The room had quite a number of bones laying around. "...Hmmm... such a strange room..." he said. "...Alright... I think if I can just hide in here... wait until they aren't paying attention to Frisk... then I can sneak in there and take her soul..."

He turned to the bed and froze up when he saw a sight that he was not at all expecting. On the bed was a little white dog, chewing contently on a bone. He didn't know how it got there or how long it was there, as he knew that dog wasn't Papyrus's or Sans's. However it was, it was there, and so was Chara.

The dog just contently chewed on the bone, not noticing Chara's presence until a couple seconds later. It glanced up and looked at Chara, his tail starting to wag after a couple seconds. "Oh... h... hey there... little fella." he said as he watched the tail wag slightly. "Uhh... wh... where did you come from?"

The dog put down the bone and jumped off the bed and walked over to Chara's feet, panting. "Uh... hey..." Chara said. He was trying to find a way to get away from the dog before it started making noise without attracting any attention. "Uh... listen... I'm... a little busy... so... I don't think I can play with you right now... so... maybe if you..."

The dog looked at him and gave a little growl, indicating that he was ready to bark excitedly. "No, no. No no no no no no no." Chara said as he shook his head and put his index finger over his lips to shush the dog. "Don't do that. Don't make any sounds, alright?"

The dog, instead, just kept panting and gave another little small growl, as it was surely ready to bark by now. "Don't you dare bark, you stupid little dog!" Chara whispered fiercely. This only got the dog even more excited, the more Chara acknowledged its presence. "...No, wait. I take it back. You're not a stupid dog. I didn't mean to say that, just please... do not-"

The little white dog finally began to bark. "Arf! Arf!" it barked with that very high and squeaky voice.

"No! Stop it! Stop it!" Chara whispered as he was starting to panic. "I'll pet you or give you a treat or something, I swear I'll do whatever you want! Just please! Stop barking!"

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Papyrus, Sans and Frisk all stopped eating as they heard the little barking. "...Do you hear that?" Frisk questioned.

"It's coming from upstairs." Sans said. "...Sounds like a dog."

"That meddlesome canine!" Papyrus exclaimed as he stood up. "He must be getting into my bone collection again! Oh, I'm gonna get him this time!" He went over to the cabinet and grabbed a spatula as he began to walk upstairs with it.

Sans gave a roll of his eyes and went back to eating the spaghetti. "...Aren't you going to help him?" Frisk questioned.

"Why would I bother?" Sans asked. "It's not my room, it's not my problem... besides, I spent enough time on my breaks as it is already."

The Annoying Dog was barking more and more at Chara, Chara really getting panicky at this moment. "Listen, dog. I am begging you. Please, stop barking." Chara said. "I don't want anybody to catch me here. I don't want to attract any attention. If you keep barking at me like that, you're going to lead someone right to me while they're looking for-"

"Cursed canine!" Papyrus exclaimed as he opened the door to his room. "You're not going to get out with another one of my-" He came to a stop and stared as his eyes immediately caught the sight of another human around Frisk's age standing there with the dog. Both the dog and Chara looked at Papyrus, Chara's eyes wide, and one of them twitching a little bit.

Neither of the two dared to say a word while they just stared at each other. The Annoying Dog just sat there, panting. Seemed like the discovery of Chara took all the attention off the dog.

"...Who are you, human?" Papyrus questioned. "How did you get into, and what brings you to the house of I, the Great Papyrus?"

Chara just remained silent for a couple more seconds before turning to the Annoying Dog. He was discovered and his element of surprise gone, so there was no sense in keeping quiet now. "Stupid dog!" he shouted. "You blew my cover!"

Papyrus held the spatula up. "I ask you once more! Who are you, and why are you in my house?"

Chara, however, had different plans than answering Papyrus's question. He instead, looked at Papyrus with that creepy eye socket and open mouth face and charged straight into Papyrus, knocking him back out of his room.

Papyrus gave a yelp of surprise at Chara's action. He was taken by surprise and caught off guard. "How dare you attack I, the Great Papy-" Before Papyrus could finish his statement, Chara hit him again, this time his fist becoming a very big fist of some black aura and slamming into Papyrus in a powerful punch, causing the skeleton to fly back and fall down the stairs.

Sans and Frisk both glanced at the stairs as they saw Papyrus tumbling down them. "Papyrus!" Sans exclaimed as Papyrus hit the bottom stair. "You ok?!"

"I-it's him." Frisk said as she pointed up as Chara walked out of Papyrus's room and looked down at all three of them. "He-he's the one. The one that attacked Asgore and I?"

"That's him?!" Papyrus exclaimed as he ran back to Frisk's side.

"Guilty as charged." Chara said as he jumped down to the second floor, landing on his feet without any problems. "I was planning on sneaking up on you, and I would have done just fine had that annoying dog not come around and blown my cover." he said. "Oh well, no matter. It will be much more fun ripping every one of you apart the physical way."

Sans gave a sigh. "Just when I thought I could enjoy my break without any more interruptions..." he muttered as he stood up and put his hands in the pockets of his shorts. "Papyrus... take the kid and get her some distance from here. Find a good hiding place."

"Sans!" both Frisk and Papyrus simultaneously exclaimed. Frisk then asked, "Sans, you can't seriously be thinking about-"

"Oh, but I am." Sans said as he looked back at the two. "Go on, find a place to hide, or a place that's safe from danger where you can watch. I don't really care." he said as he looked at Chara. "I told Asgore and Toriel that I would show this little brat a bad time if he came here, and that's what I'm going to do."

"Sans..." Papyrus said, not at all liking this idea. He had never seen Sans in a single fight before, as Sans was always so lazy. He wasn't sure if Sans would be able to handle this.

"...You boneheads still standing there?" Sans questioned as he looked at the two. "Come on! I'm giving you two a golden opportunity to get out of harm's way, and you're just going to stand there like a bunch of idiots? Get going!"

Unwillingly, knowing that Sans wasn't going to be swayed into changing his mind, both Papyrus and Frisk ran to find a place in the house which was safe and that they could watch the battle. "Don't you dare walk out on me." Chara said as he looked at Frisk running. "You and I have a deal to finish!" He turned into a shadow and began to fly fast to get Frisk.

Before he could reach him, however, Sans suddenly appeared right behind Papyrus and Frisk as they ran, blocking the way for Chara and giving the two a few more seconds to find a hiding place. "Oh? What's the matter, brat? You chilled to the bone at the thought of facing me?" Sans questioned. "You'll be fighting me now, and I'll take you down right here, right now."

"TAKE ME DOWN? ME?!" Chara questioned, his freaky face coming back. "YOU STUPID BAG OF BONES! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA OF WHOM YOU'RE SPEAKING TO?! I AM A DEMON! I AM THE ONE WHO SHALL RIP ALL LIFE ON THIS PLANET AWAY, AND YOU PLAN TO GET IN MY WAY?!"

Sans gave a chuckle and closed his eyes. "...Let me tell you something... 'Chara'." he said as he kept that grin on his skeletal face. "It's quite a beautiful day outside, isn't it?... Birds are chirping... flowers are blooming..."

Chara gave a scoff of ridicule as he held out his hand to one of the knives in the knife rack at the kitchen. The sharpest, biggest knife flew into his hand, which he caught and grinned at Sans as he was ready to rip this bag of bones apart.

"Yes... a wonderful day... and it's on days like these... and any other day, in fact... that kids like you..." Sans opened his eyes, and the white pupils that were usually there had disappeared. "Should be burning in Hell."

"Heh. You don't scare me. I'll take you out in one shot." Chara said with a grin. He began to charge at Sans with the knife at hand, ready to slash at the elder skeleton brother while Papyrus and Frisk quietly watched on.

One of the pupil's in Sans's eyes returned, glowing blue and yellow. He held out his hand as Chara approached and jerked it down. When he did, Chara was suddenly pulled to the floor with great force, slamming his body face first onto the floor. Chara was dazed and surprised at the sudden hit. He was not at all expecting to be stopped so easily by Sans.

As he got up on his hands and knees, trying to recover his focus from the hit, he could sense something about to come up and strike him from the ground. He gave a yell and jumped up into the air, avoiding a field of bones that spiked up from the ground that was aiming to do damage to the 'demon' child.

"Gah! Lucky shot." Chara said as he landed back to the ground and heard a strange noise, which sounded like something flying in right behind him. He turned around and saw what looked like a dragon skull appeared right there. "What the-" Chara exclaimed as he rolled to the side, just barely dodging the white blast that came out of the skull.

After he dodged the first, there was another one that shot at him again, which Chara also had to avoid. He was able to just barely hop from the ground and avoided the attack. He looked up at Sans in complete surprise. "...What?" Sans questioned with a shrug. "You thought I was kidding?"

Chara gave a growl and he stood up. "Big deal. You just caught me off guard." he said as he held the knife, ready to attack. "That won't be happening again." As he stood there, ready to make an attack, he could slowly feel something crawling on his back. It wasn't like anything physical, it was just that feeling of something crawling on his back and tingling his spine. "Let's see how you like this!" He charged again with his knife.

He jabbed the knife forward, aiming to hit Sans in the stomach, but Sans easily stepped to the side and dodged it. With Chara's hand right close to him, and with the said boy stunned at the dodge, Sans was easily able to grab his hand and threw him down to the ground. "You honestly thought I was going to make it that easy for you?" Sans said as he threw Chara back at the direction he was.

Chara growled as he stood up, watching as bones were coming up from the floor and down from the ceiling and coming straight for him from both sides. Chara had to jump without jumping too high in order to dodge the attacks. One of the bones had hit his leg, and as it did, Chara felt a burning pain shoot all throughout hit body, much more than a normal attack such as that should have done.

He gave a growl as he looked at his leg and groaned. That crawling feeling was still on his back, only now it was felt to a much larger degree by Chara. "Wh... what are you doing to me?" he questioned. "How are you doing that?!"

"Hehehe. Why don't you come over here and find out?" Sans questioned as he held his hand up to him and began to wag his index finger up towards himself, to provoke Chara to try that again.

Chara gave a growl. "I... I will not lose to a cur like you!" he shouted as he charged again.

"Yes, that's right. Keep swinging that knife to your heart's content." Sans said as he easily dodged the attack again. He then snapped his finger, and more of those dragon skulls began to appear around Chara and fire those beams at him. Chara dodged as many as he could, but there were quite a few that were able to hit him. With each hit that Chara took, it seemed like it was getting much harder for him to avoid the attacks.

"Wow..." Frisk whispered as she looked at Papyrus. "Papyrus... you never told me that Sans was so strong."

"I... I had no idea." Papyrus said. "I've never seen him like this."

Chara gave a growl as he stood up, that crawling feeling starting to chill his very spine as he tried an attack, this time, it having to be much slower from Chara's sudden weakening.

Sans easily dodged it again, and this time gave a grin. "Alright... let's see how this works." he said, and for a second, all Chara could see was pitch black.

When Chara's vision returned, he was met with the sight of bones flying right at him from the ground. "This isn't possi-" he started before getting hit by the bones, having absolutely no time to reach to them coming at him.

After he got hit from the bones, his vision went black yet again. When it came back, there were more bones heading to him. He was able to dodge a few, but he still got hit quite a bit. After that, his vision went black again, and when it came back, he was surrounded by four dragon skulls. He had no time and almost no energy to dodge them, and he got his by all four of the blasts at once.

His vision went black again, and when it returned, Sans was staring at him with that grin, his white pupils staring intently at the boy. "So then... you ready to call it quits kid, or are you just going to make things harder on yourself?"

Chara slowly got up, coughing up some kind of black sludge as he did and it spilling on the floor, presumably some kind of blood. "H... how... how... did you..." Chara started. "No... NO... THIS CAN'T BE... I'M... A DEMON... I'M MORE POWERFUL THAN ANY HUMAN BEING AND MONSTER IN EXISTENCE... AND YET... YET I LOSE... TO THE LIKES... OF YOU?..."

Sans gave a chuckle. "Oh, did I forget to mention?" he questioned. "I'm a judge for any human or monster that seeks council with King Asgore. You may be strong against any other, but against me, all the sins that you've committed in your life and all the hatred in your heart gather against you and make you weak. You never had a chance to face me, because you're full of hatred and malice."

"N... no... impossible..." Chara said as he slowly got up, coughing up more of his own 'blood'.

"What's impossible is that you would still seek to fight, even though you have absolutely no chances of success." Sans said with a sigh. "...I'm done fighting you... I'm giving you a chance now... leave and never come near my friend again... or else I won't be so merciful the next time we meet."

Sans turned around with a sigh and began to slowly walk. "...No..." Chara said quietly as he gripped the handle of the knife tighter. "...No... NO..."

He gripped the handle tightly and began to charge at Sans while his back was turned. "Sans! Look out behind you!" Frisk shouted. This made Sans look back and see Chara running straight for him.

"YOU WILL DIE!" he shouted, having Sans right where he wanted and thrusting the knife right at them.

Both of them stared at each other quietly for quite some time. Neither Sans nor Chara really knew what happened. The handle was right into Sans, but the blade wasn't in him... in fact, on closer inspection, the blade wasn't there at all.

Chara looked at the knife handle and saw that the blade was completely gone. It must have gotten blasted off by those big white lasers. "...No..." he said as he turned the handle up side down and began to hit the bottom of it, as if expecting the blade could just magically fall back down.

Sans cleared his throat a little bit and Chara looked back at him. He now stood there, his face smug and his hands on his boney hips as he looked at Chara. He knew that the 'demon' child had absolutely nothing. He was no match for him.

"...Heh heh... uh..." Chara chuckled nervously as he looked at the knife handle in his hand. "Oh... uh..." He tossed it to the side and looked back at Sans with his hands behind on his back. "Heheheheheheh... eh..."

Sans gave a shake of his head and lifted his hand up, sending Chara up and slamming into the roof. Chara gave a yelp of pain, and watched as Sans had a few bones appear from the ground right under him. "...Oh... wow... alright... uh... I... know I've done a couple of things... and I've said a lot of things I shouldn't have..."

Sans gave a nod and an "Uh-huh" as he snapped his fingers and a whole ring of those dragon skulls appeared, all of them opening their mouths slightly and charging their beams, letting Chara see the white light of death that awaited him down there.

"And... uh... I... know you're probably thinking, 'Should I throw this boy into that ring of death?'... and the answer to that question might shock you... but... if you could just find it in your heart to put me down-"

"Put you down, eh?" Sans said. "...Mm. Alright. Whatever you say."

Chara gave a gasp and looked back at the bones and the laser skulls that awaited his descent. "No! Wait! That's not what I-" He began to fall towards the ground. "MEAAAAAANT!" The bones pierced his body as soon as he came into contact with him, and once he did, every single skull in the ring fired their beams at him, encasing the entire house in a bright white light.

When the light disappeared, Chara was laying there, without his legs, his left arm, and the entire left portion of his face gone. His body was spilling its black inky blood all over as the bones faded away with the skulls, as he laid there, silently.

"Oh yeah!" Sans shouted as he spread his legs a bit and smacked both of his hands on the sides of his crotch. "I got three words for you, kid! Get! Dunked! On!"

"Sans!" Papyrus exclaimed as he and Frisk came out of hiding. Papyrus went to his brother while Frisk just stared at Chara. Even after Chara trying to kill her multiple times, she couldn't help but feel bad that he was in such pain.

"Sans! That was AMAZING!" Papyrus exclaimed. "...Well, I mean not as amazing as me... but how did you do that?! Where did you learn to fight like that?!"

"That's why you don't piss me off, Papyrus." Sans suggested with a chuckle and a shrug. "When you gotta judge a lot of people that come wondering in to meet Asgore, you gotta learn how to punish some people, you know?"

"Obviously! You gotta teach me how to fight like that!"

"Well... I don't know." Sans said. "I mean, with me having two jobs and having to work a lot to get them done and earn my legal breaks..."

As the two continued talking, Frisk watched as Chara slowly opened his one eye that he had. He groaned in agony and looked as Sans and Papyrus paid no heed to him. He didn't seem to notice that Frisk continued to stare at him. He felt so humiliated and embarrassed, beaten by such a lazy lowlife as that bag of bones. And now here he was, at their mercy, absolutely helpless...

He glanced over on the floor and saw his one miracle. His magic notebook that laid there, feet out of his reach. Perhaps... if he could get to that notebook, he may be able to save himself.

Frisk just stared as Chara forced himself onto his belly and began to slowly crawl with nothing but his right arm. Any other person would be absolutely immobilized and helpless to bleeding and at the mercy of everyone, but Chara's determination to get out of there made it so that he was able to move his body.

Frisk stared, thinking nothing of it, and having the thought that he was just crawling to escape. She decided that he should have a chance to leave, and have some mercy. That thought was immediately smashed when he put his hand on that notebook, and began to flip the pages as he was trying to find a monster he had drawn that could buy him enough time to fully heal himself.

"...Sans. Papyrus." Frisk said as Chara got to a page and began muttering something with his hand over it. Both of the two skeleton brothers turned just in time to see something pop out from the pages. It stood at around 6 feet, and looked like a human. Its entire body was covered in some kind of teal wear that covered his whole body, with a trapezoid shape going from the part of the neck up to the area below its supposed nose. There was another trapezoid shaped part above its eyes that covered its head. Between these two parts, its face was covered by darkness, save for its eyes, which glowed yellow.

"W... Windeol..." Chara groaned as he got himself back on his back. "Gi... give me... time... to... heal..."

The humanoid creature known as Windeol nodded and held its hand open. In its hand, from a strong blowing wind, a staff of wood had appeared in his hands. It stood at about 5 feet, and at the top of the staff was a cloud of pure wind, with powerful little gusts blowing around it.

"Heh... you gotta learn to quit some time, kid." Sans said as he stood at the ready.

Windeol held its staff towards Sans, and a very powerful gale of wind suddenly blowed throughout the house, almost blowing Sans Papyrus and Frisk over, and causing quite a number of possessions in the house to topple over.

"Hmph... fine then... you want to blow things away... blow on this!" Sans said as he sent bones flying at Windeol. The creature didn't move an inch, and yet from his sheer mental control of the air around him, all of the bones steered away from Windeol and missed him.

Sans gave a groan and tried to slam Windeol into the floor to have bones appear under him, but before Windeol hit the ground, he let the air push his entire body up and have the bones miss him. Sans gave a sigh and snapped his fingers. To that, a dragon skull appeared. "Let's see what you got against this."

To that, however, Windeol was fully prepared. Before the skull could fire, he used the power of the air and forced the skull to turn around, aiming directly at Sans. When the skull was turned around and facing the skeleton, it fired. "...Oh." Sans said.

The blast had hit him and sent him flying and crashing into the wall. "Sans!" Papyrus exclaimed as he ran to him. Windeol held his staff at both of them, and used the air around them to hold both of the skeleton brothers to the wall.

Frisk hid and watched as Chara, who had used the time of his break to fully heal himself, stood up and walked over to the two. "...You're a judge that judged those who met Asgore, hm?" he questioned. "...I'll tell you what. Since you've really impressed me in our fight, I'm prepared to let you go if you answer this question... where are the Human Souls?"

"The Human Souls?" Papyrus questioned as he tried to get down to no avail. "What do you want those for?"

"I want them because though I hate to admit it, my fight with Asgore and my fight with you has proven to me one thing." he said. "...Without that special notebook of mine, I don't have the power to defeat all of you and achieve my goal... but with those souls, I'll be invincible..." Chara looked at Sans. "I'm giving you and Papyrus a chance to save yourselves... all you have to do is tell me where they are."

"...Alright..." Sans said. "...I'll tell you."

Frisk gave a gasp and watched on as Chara smiled. "Good decision... go ahead..."

"I'll tell you... when Hell freezes over, you little bitch." Sans said with a triumphant grin at him. "Asgore released those souls the minute we got up here... by now, all of the souls of the humans he had killed are all across the world, safe from the reaches of someone like you... and you'll never be able to find them... quite a bone-shattering realization, isn't it?"

"Gah... fine then... if I can't find the Human Souls, then I guess you both can find your way in Hell." Chara said as he held his hand up, ready to give Windeol the order to kill them. "Do me a solid, would you? When you both meet your Creator, tell him to go ahead and skip my judgment... Hell won't be able to contain me." He gave a grin and was ready to swing his hand down to give Windeol the signal to kill.

 _Brother. I don't want you to hurt anybody..._

The sudden remembrance of those words caused Chara to stop cold. He stood there, as if frozen in time for a few seconds, his hand slowly lowering as he didn't seem to realize what he was doing.

"... _Why am I hesitating?_ " he thought to himself." _I have them right where I want them... I just have to give the order to Windeol... and they won't be able to stand in my way..._ ' He raised his hand up again, ready to give the order once more.

 _I... I just want my brother back... I want... you to be happy..._

The words that Asriel told Chara kept appearing in his head. It was as if they were trying to stop him from killing them. "... _Why can't I do it?!... I... I am a demon with no heart!... They deserve it!... All of them deserve it!... Just give the order!... Just give... the order... and..._ "

 _I know there's still good in you... please... just let it free... let go of your anger... let's go home... let's be a family again..._

Sans and Papyrus waited for the end, but became confused as Chara had hesitated to give the order not once, but three times now. Frisk also remained watching, silently waiting to see what happened.

"..." Chara gave a humiliated sigh and closed his eyes, looking down as he swung his hand to the left, giving Windeol the order to let them free and call of the kill. For some reason, he just couldn't bring himself to do it.

Papyrus and Sans both flopped on the floor, gasping for air with Frisk running up to them. "Are you both ok?" she questioned. She looked back to Chara, who had already gotten Windeol back into the notebook and was walking away.

Frisk looked down and thought about what she had just saw. The supposed 'demon' had the perfect opportunity to kill them, yet he decided to spare them anyway. Frisk thought about that as Chara disappeared out of sight... perhaps the demon child wasn't as evil as he convinces himself to be...


	6. Brotherly Love

Chapter 6

Brotherly Love

It didn't take too long for Asgore and Toriel to arrive. It was pretty tough explaining everything that happened when they walked in and saw a lot of stuff knocked over and Papyrus, Sans and Frisk all just sat there somberly. Papyrus didn't brag or talk on and on like normal, and Sans was without any bad puns and lazy views of life.

It didn't take long for Asgore and Toriel to figure out that Chara had come to that house in search for Frisk. Asgore was really disturbed when they found out that the culprit for what happened was Chara. When he had Frisk escape Toriel's house and head to Sans and Papyrus's house, he was hoping that that would buy her some time. But somehow, Chara was able to find out where Frisk was, and very quickly too. It hadn't even been three hours, and they had already got hit twice by Chara.

The house itself was a complete mess. There are holes in the wall and in the floor from where Sans had used his attacks, and there were a great number of things toppled over and even broken from the strong winds that Windeol had created while protecting Chara. The only thing that really stood straight in the house at the moment was a couple couches and chairs, which they had only recently got back up so that they would be able to sit down when the others got there.

Asgore was in the kitchen, making tea for everybody while Toriel was there, with Frisk sitting by her on the couch as she was being comforted by her adopted mother. Sans and Papyrus just sat there quietly and somberly. Sans felt like such an idiot. He felt like he had the perfect moment to finish off Chara then and there, and end the issue in there one fight... but Chara was able to get that notebook and escape... all because Sans had thought he had won then and there.

"Well... to the very least, he wasn't able to touch my cooking ingredients. Even the strongest of villains can't destroy the cooking of I, Master Chef Papyrus!" he said, in an attempt to lighten up the mood of everybody there. "Nyeh heh heh heh... heh... eh..." He gave a sigh and shook his head as he just looked down. Even Papyrus's cheerful mood was gone at the moment.

Asgore came back with the tea and a few cups for everybody to pour it in. "...I'm sorry... it's my fault." Asgore said as he poured the tea and sat down by Toriel and Frisk. "...I thought that if I got Frisk out of Toriel's house and moved her to a place she would be safe quickly, I thought that Chara wouldn't be able to find her for quite some time... I wasn't counting on him being here before we arrived."

"...He's gone crazy." Toriel said with a shake of her head. "...Chara has always been a peculiar one, but never could I have imagined him going this far..."

There was another silence in the room. It almost felt as if even when he wasn't there anymore, Chara still continued to mock them. He had done so much damage to them, and even though he was initially dealt great damage, he was able to leave relatively unscathed. He was virtually unstoppable at this point.

"...What are we waiting for?" Frisk asked as she looked around. She knew that they had to come up with some kind of a plan to put a stop to this whole ordeal, so she wasn't sure why they weren't coming up with one now.

"We're still waiting for Undyne and Alphys." Sans said with a sigh. "They told me they would try to be here as fast as they could, but they never gave me an exact time." There was some more silence as they waited.

"...I should have finished him..." Sans said with a sigh as he looked down and clutched his head with his hands in frustration. "I'm such an idiot... I had the perfect opportunity to get rid of him... and I messed it up... I let him go..."

"...You were able to keep my child safe from harm... you protected her from Chara without a single thought of your own safety." Toriel said as she smiled at Sans. "I don't think I could have asked you to do anything more for us..."

Sans gave a sigh and looked over at the door as he heard a knock. "I-is anybody i-in there?" came the familiar nervous stutter from outside the door.

"Door's open, Alphys." Papyrus said as he looked at the door. Seemed like the two were finally here.

The door opened and Alphys and Undyne were both at the door. Both of them were quiet as they looked at what a mess the house was. "...O-oh... uh... is... this a bad time?" Alphys questioned.

"It couldn't be a better time, actually." Frisk said as she looked up. "...We need to talk with you guys..."

"Damn, it's such a mess in here." Undyne said as she walked over and sat down. "And I thought I could make a real mess in the house."

The two sat down and Asgore handed them their cups of tea. "You two didn't have too many difficulties getting here, I hope?"

"W-well... not technically..." Alphys said. "Uh... Undyne got into a fight with someone on the way here though..."

"Hey, it's not my fault that little punk bumped into me." Undyne said. "If he had watched where he was going, I wouldn't have had any problems."

"W-well I'm j-just saying... it was just an accident, I'm sure." Alphys said as she took a little sip of her tea.

"Ahem... if I may..." Asgore said as he looked around as everybody is here. "...We're all here because... well... we have an incredibly difficult situation in our hands now..."

Papyrus gave a nod. He looked over at Alphys and Undyne and said, "The reason that our house is such a mess now is because we were just recently attacked... and we almost got killed."

"What?!" Undyne shouted as she almost slammed the cup of tea to the floor. "Who attacked you?! I swear, when I get my hands on them, I'm gonna-"

"Calm down, Undyne." Sans said as he took a sip of the tea and looked to the ground. "...The one who attacked us... I don't know very much about him... all I know is that he's some boy named Chara... he claims himself to be a demon of some sorts... and he's hunting Frisk."

"H-hunting Frisk?" Alphys questioned. "Wh-why w-would he be after Frisk?"

"...He claims that he and I made some sort of deal some time ago." Frisk said with a sigh. "...I have no recollection of such a thing being true... but he seems very persistent in it... he claims I owe him my soul..."

Papyrus nodded and pointed at the upstairs. "I ran up to get that dog that's been stealing all my bones, and I saw him standing there... he came down here for Frisk, and Sans fought him... it was amazing... I'd never seen Sans pull something like that fight off... he literally had that guy at his mercy... but then..."

"But then I got too confident." Sans said, his head still being clutched in his hands. "I took my eyes off of him because I thought there was nothing more he could do... but while my back was turned, he got to that notebook and summoned something that took me down... gah... if only I hadn't looked away... I could have finished him off then and there! I was so close to the chance of finishing him off... but then..."

"You can't be to blame for what happened, Sans... if anyone deserves the blame for this, it's me..." Asgore sighed as he looked down and took a sip of his tea. "...I feel like I could have raised him better... if only I had been there for him more in his life, then perhaps..."

"Asgore... we both did everything we could." Toriel said. "We loved and raised him as best as we could... we did everything, but it just wasn't enough..."

"You loved him and raised him?" Sans questioned as he let go of his head and looked at them. "What are you talking about?... You... you personally know who this guy is?"

Asgore and Toriel both looked at each other and gave a sigh. They both looked down in remembrance of the events that transpired to them meeting Chara. "...It all started... one normal day in the Underground..."

* * *

 _It was a beautiful day, just as they always were to the young Asriel Dreemur. He smiled and hummed happily as he walked around. He was walking to the spot with the golden flowers to go pick some for his mother and father, the king and queen of the Underground._

 _He was a sweet, young monster who loved seeing his friends and family happy. He was somewhat shy and often found it a little difficult to make new friends, but whatever friends he did have always thought of him as one of the most good-hearted monsters the Underground had ever seen._

 _He was walking to the spot as he saw the beautiful golden flowers. He smiled happily as he went over and began to pick some of them. He was humming a little song as he was plucking up the best of the flowers that he could find. "Hmmmm... I think Mommy and Daddy would really like this one." he said as he took another flower that he had his eyes on._

 _He continued to pluck the flowers, stopping only when he heard something close by. It sounded like a little pained groan, coming from somewhere in the flower field. "...Hello?" Asriel called out, hearing the groans._

 _The response Asriel got was just more painful groans. Sounded like somebody was in great pain. "Hello?... Is someone there?"_

 _Only more groaning was heard, as if whatever was making the noise was too weak to give him any other response. Asriel came to investigate. He was getting closer to a shining white light from the sky, the hole in the mountain that led to the Underground, where the monsters are trapped. As he approached, something began to become more visible. It seemed to be somebody laying down._

 _Upon closer inspection, the body that laid there was quietly laying in a puddle of red liquid, which Asriel knew to be blood. The person that laid there was injured. "Oh my gosh." Asriel said as he immediately ran to the person._

 _Asriel got the person flipped around to laying on his back. He slowly opened his eyes, and his entire body went cold with a shudder as he laid eyes on Asriel._

 _"Hi there." Asriel said with a friendly smile. Hearing the friendliness in his voice and seeing the smile on his face, the boy slowly eased up a bit. "What's your name?"_

 _"Ge... get... away... from..." the other person said as he was trying to get away from Asriel, but he couldn't. His arm was in too much pain, and he had really hurt both of his legs._

 _"Hey. Don't move too much." Asriel said as he took his hand to stop him from moving. The boy flinched, as if expecting to receive some kind of pain from the creature, but eventually looked back to Asriel as he felt just the gentle hand touching his._

 _"Hey there." Asriel said again with that friendly smile. "What's your name? My name's Asriel."_

 _"...A... Asriel..." the boy mumbled as he gave a sigh. "My... my name... is... Ch... Chara..."_

 _"Chara?... That's a funny name." Asriel said with a little innocent giggle and looked at Chara. "It's nice to meet you, Chara... I don't think I've ever seen a monster that looks like you... what kind of monster are you?"_

 _"M... monster... I..." Chara looked up at the hole he came down from. He stared up at the light that came down from it for a few moments in thought. Monster... perhaps human kind was just a bunch of monsters... to the very least, it was a perfect description of what the people he knew were like..._

 _He looked back at Asriel and gave a sigh and gave his answer. "...Human." he replied._

 _Asriel gave a little tilt of his head. "Human?" he questioned. He had never really paid much heed to the stories that his father had told him of the battle between the monsters and the humans. He had thought that all of them were just fairy tails, and there were no such thing as humans._

 _"...Human!" Asriel said with a little giggle. "I didn't think there were such things as humans. It's really nice to actually meet one."_

 _"Yes... and it was... absolutely charming to... meet... whatever you are..." Chara said as he just looked up at the sunlight that came down from the hole again. "...Now, Asriel... if you could please... do me a favor and leave me at peace here?"_

 _"But... you're hurt." Asriel said as he sat down by Chara. The boy just stared at the young prince, completely baffled by what he was doing. "...I can't leave you here on your own."_

 _Chara gave a little sigh and looked back up at the hole. "Asriel?" called a woman's voice. "Asriel, where are you?"_

 _"I'm right here, Mommy!" Asriel called happily as he got up and began to walk towards the woman that was making the calling. She looked pretty much the same as Asriel._

 _"Asriel, where have you been? I told you not to wander out of the house without us knowing." the woman said._

 _"But Mommy, I wanted to go and pick some flowers for you and Daddy, and I found a-"_

 _"No buts, son... you could have been seriously hurt, or worse. Now come on, let's get you back home."_

 _"But Mommy, look!" Asriel said as he walked over to where Chara was laying. "I found a human."_

 _Chara remained quiet as he_ _looked and saw Asriel's mother stand and looking at him. He started to become a little fearful. "Oh my." the woman said as she knelt down a little bit to get a closer look on him. "...A real human child... what's your name?"_

 _Chara just stared at her, his eyes wide and his breathing a little funny as he became afraid of what the woman might do to him. "His name is Chara, Mommy." Asriel said. "I found him laying on the ground like this."_

 _The woman gave a nod. "Well, Chara... my name is Toriel..." the mother said and gently reached to help Chara up. Chara flinched and looked away from her, fearing what she would do._

 _Toriel simply helped him up and began to walk him to her house, Asriel following happily behind them. "You need not be afraid of us, Chara." Toriel said on the way to their house. "We will cause no harm to you."_

 _Toriel and Asriel had helped Chara and healed him, and he stayed there quietly, waiting to find out what was going to happen to him. Meanwhile, Asriel sat there with him, happily talking with Chara as if they had known each other for a very long time. Chara was reluctant at first to reply, but eventually began talking with Asriel, and he was really starting to warm up to him._

 _After about an hour or so, the door opened, and in came another monster that looked like Toriel and Asriel in some ways. This was proven as Asriel jumped down and began to run to the door. "Daddy!" he called happily as he ran to his father and hugged him._

 _The person laughed and hugged Asriel close. "Hey there, son." he said. "Glad to see you again."_

 _The monster_ _smiled as he looked at Chara. "Howdy there. And who might you..." He paused and his smile faded as he began to slowly realize that Chara wasn't a monster. "...You... you're no monster."_

 _Toriel came out of the kitchen and went to the man. "Asgore, this is Chara." she said "Asriel and I found him laying silently down by the patch of flowers, and we decided to bring him back and help him."_

 _"...Yes..." Chara said as he was getting real reluctant now that Asgore was there. "...And... I thank you for your help... but... I... better get going... don't want to disturb you guys anymore..."_

 _"Go?" Asgore questioned as he looked outside and looked back at Chara. "...Where do you think you have to go, Chara?"_

 _"I... I don't know... I... guess I should... try to get back to my house..."_

 _"But what about the barrier?" Asgore walked over and sat by Chara. "I'm assuming that you must have accidentally fallen down here... there's only one way that anybody could get in or out of there... and it is blocked off by a powerful barrier... it's a barrier that allows anybody to get into the Underground... but it prevents anybody from getting out."_

 _"...Oh... I... wasn't aware of that." Chara looked down with a sigh._

 _"...Child... if you have no place to go... you're welcome to stay here, if you wish." Toriel said as she walked over to him. "I promise you, my husband, my son and I will take care of you for as long as you need."_

 _Asgore nodded. "You're welcome to stay here for as long as you should so desire."_

 _Asriel smiled and went up to Chara. "Yeah! We'll make you feel nice and welcome here." he said with that friendly smile._

 _Chara remained quiet, and seeing that he had no other choice, gave a nod and a smile._

"...I knew the name Chara sounded familiar somehow." Sans said and looked at them. "...That human child that you raised... he was the one that brought hope to the Underground.

Asgore nodded with a sigh. "Yes... Chara was the one we raised that we were hoping to bring hope to the Underground... we finally felt like through Chara, we could have some sort of peace with the humans..."

"...And how was he when you were raising him?" Undyne questioned. "Was he anything like he is now?"

Toriel gave a sigh. "...He started out being very kind to everyone and everything down in the Underground... though as time went on... he began to get a bit more distant from Asgore and I." she said. "...He was becoming more withdrawn from all of the Underground..."

Asgore went on, "He had seemed to be growing slightly more bitter as the days went on... except to our son, Asriel... he and Chara were the best of friends... they were almost inseparable, those two... he seemed to be the only one that Chara could completely trust."

"A-Asgore... if you r-raised him... y-you might be able to... give us a lead on wh-where he is." Alphys said.

Undyne nodded. "Alphys is right. If you raised that little brat, you might be able to give us a clue as to where he is... what did Chara like?"

Asgore looked up in thought while he scratched his beard. "Hmmm... well... he really loved chocolate." he said.

"...Well... what options does that give us?" Papyrus questioned.

"...Nothing. That detail doesn't help... what else did he like?" Sans asked.

Asgore gave a hum and looked up again. "...Oh! Flowers. He liked golden flowers just as much as Asriel did." he said. "I... don't know if that provides any more help."

"It might... is there any chance that he could have gone to somewhere that had those golden flowers?" Frisk questioned.

"...Well... there are plenty of them near Mount Ebott." Asgore said. "...Is there a chance that Chara is staying there?"

"...There's only one way to find out." Undyne said as she stood up and got her spear out. "Come on... let's go find us this little brat and teach him a lesson. Nobody hurts any of my friends and gets away with it." Everybody got up and began heading out to Mount Ebott.

* * *

Chara was leaning against the door of the building he and Asriel were staying in. He had been there for about an hour now, hesitating to even go inside. He felt so humiliated. He was supposed to be this heartless, soulless creature that would kill anyone and anything that got in his way, but he proved not too long ago that that wasn't what he was. He still had a conscious, and it had just prevented him from doing what he had to.

Not only had he been bested by a few monsters, not just once with Asgore, his adoptive father, but twice with that lazy Sans. He was supposed to be the most powerful being to live... but he just wasn't. He had used too much power with his first action that he ever took when he came back.

That action was to revive Asriel and bring him back in his full body with his soul... and he did so... using much of the power that he could have used to get started with his destruction that he had planned...

It was also Asriel that seemed to have awakened Chara's, what they would call it, 'heart'. He was the one that was seemingly getting Chara to show these emotions that he was trying to bury for so long. Regret... Sorrow... Love...

It was all because of Asriel that Chara wasn't a complete demon, and Chara knew that well. Chara wanted to feel ultimate power and destroy all those who stood in his way, and in order to do that, he knew that Asriel had to go. He had to get rid of Asriel... but how could he possibly get rid of the brother that he had used so much of his power to revive and bring back?

"...I can't." Chara said with a shake of his head as he opened the door and went in. He couldn't possibly hurt Asriel, he loved him too much. Asriel was the only good thing in Chara's life... the only person he truly, truly cared about.

He went into the building and walked slowly up to the room that he and Asriel were staying in. He walked in and was about to enter the room, but saw Asriel looking at something in his hand. He put it in his pocket, and Chara noticed the thing having a heart shape to it.

A heart shape... and it looked to have a yellow color to it... it couldn't be... could it have been one of the Human Souls? Did Asriel somehow have one and was hiding it from him?

"...What is that?" Chara said as he looked at Asriel. Asriel gave a gasp as he heard Chara's voice, which only fed Chara's suspicion even farther. "...What is that in your pocket?" Chara said firmly as he walked over to Asriel.

"O-oh. It's nothing." Asriel said.

"...Show it to me." Chara said. To that, Asriel remained quiet for a couple of seconds. "...Show it to me now!"

"..." Asriel suddenly gained a little nervous chuckle and said, "Alright... here. Check this out."

Chara looked down at Asriel's had as he took it out of his pocket and held out the heart shaped object that he had put in his pocket. It was a little locket, and when Asriel opened it, it had the words 'Best Friends Forever' in it. "This look familiar?" Asriel asked with a giggle.

"...My Locket." Chara said as Asriel gave him the locket. Chara held the locket in his hand and gently touched it with his finger. It was the locket that Asriel had gotten him for the first birthday he had ever celebrated with him and their parents. They both had a matching pair of those lockets to show that they were best friends.

"...I had been searching for this locket for so long... I didn't think I would ever see it again..." He glanced over at Asriel and asked, "...Where did you find this, brother?"

Asriel gave a sheepish chuckle and looked down. "...Well... uh... when we were... in your room one time... I... put the locket in my pocket for some reason... and... I forgot it was in there... I... had it for the whole time..."

Chara looked at Asriel for a couple minutes before giving an amused chuckle. That locket had been in his brother's pocket the whole time, and he hadn't been bothered to look there. "...Stealing my locket from me, eh brother?" Chara asked with a joking smirk on his face.

"Steal from you?" Asriel asked and began to laugh a little bit. He knew that Chara was just joking around when he said that. "No. No. Not at all stealing. I was just... uh... holding on to it for when I saw you again... even though I thought that wouldn't happen, and I... forgot I had it."

Chara laughed along with Asriel to this. They both laughed for a little bit before stopping. Chara had a genuine smile on his face. Asriel was allowing him to feel happiness as he got the locket back on him. "Thanks, Asriel." he said with that smile and hugged Asriel.

The two brothers hugged each other close. Asriel knew that he could help Chara let go and become happy. No matter what anybody else could say about Chara, Asriel was never going to give up on him. He genuinely believed that Chara could be a good person if could just see that mankind wasn't the bunch of monsters he saw them as.

"...Listen... Chara... I know that I may be repeating myself... but-"

Asriel was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Hold that thought, Asriel." Chara said as he went over to the door and opened it. At the door, he was greeted by a creature that looked exactly like Windeol, only instead of the things he wore being teal, they were a purple color. Its eyes were red instead of yellow, and the staff that it had had a purple cloud of darkness at the end of it instead of wind.

"Ah. Darkeol. I knew that you would arrive faster than the others that you lead." Chara said. "...You bring good news, I take it?"

Darkeol held its staff up, and from the top of the staff, a yellow heart shaped soul slowly went out, making Asriel gasp as he saw Chara take it in his hands. "...The Soul of Justice." Chara said with a smile. "...One of six... perhaps I should have just sent you and the others out to find the souls much sooner than I did." he said with a chuckle. "If I had known you'd be able to find them so quickly, I wouldn't have had to go to the house of those boneheads in the first place."

"...There is something you should know." Darkeol said, his voice being very calm, pretty much emotionless. "I have sent the other five to search for the remaining Human Souls... I hope that with me finding the first, they'll be able to find the other five fairly quickly... however, I should also inform you that we may not have much time... according to Illusionare, Frisk and her friends will be searching for you... they're going to Mount Ebott as we speak."

"Mount Ebott?... They think I'm over there?" Chara questioned. "Hmmm... peculiar how they could come to such a conclusion... what gives them any thought that I would be there?"

"I don't know... all I know is that that's the first place that they are looking... if they're allowed to search for you while we go and collect the other Human Souls, I'm sure we could find them all and still have time before they find you here."

"...I appreciate the thought, Darkeol... but I'm afraid I'm not very patient." Chara said as he took the Soul of Justice inside him, it making his way and joining his own soul. "Ahhh... now that feels great." he said as he began to walk.

"Ch-Chara!" Asriel called after him. "Where are you going?"

"...I'm going to Mount Ebott." Chara said. "After my first two failures today... I'm willing to try and make another attempt at them... and I'll succeed this time."

"But you just got back... Chara, you can't seriously go out there now?" Asriel said. "I won't let you harm them."

Chara gave a shake of his head. He began walking towards the door, but Asriel ran to the doorway and blocked him from getting out. "Chara! I won't let you go and try to hurt them!"

"Asriel... get out of the way." Chara said. "I am doing what I must. Now move aside."

"No! I won't!" Asriel said as he continued to stand there. "Brother, Frisk is my friend, and our parents are with them! I can't allow you to hurt them!"

"...You would stand in my way?" Chara said. "...With the power I have just obtained... you would keep me from my destiny?"

Asriel looked down. He knew that he didn't really have anything that would stop Chara, but he wouldn't allow Chara to go out and hurt them if he could help it, even if it meant he had to risk his own life for it. "...Yes."

"..." Chara gave a sigh and looked down. "...Very well." he said as he looked at Darkeol. "...Spectate the others... make sure they find the Human Souls, and bring them all back to me... don't report back until all of the souls are found."

Darkeol nodded and gave a little bow and walked out. Asriel gave a sigh of relief and moved away from the doorway as Darkeol closed it. "...You have quite a demanding care for Frisk and her friends." Chara said with a hum. "...It might just get you into trouble some day."

Asriel gave a sigh and a nod as he looked as Chara went and got a phone book and looked through it. "Hmmm... no... no... no..." he muttered as he looked through the pages.

"...What are you looking for?" Asriel questioned.

"A restaurant advertisement that has good food and delivers." Chara said. "I haven't eaten absolutely anything since I first woke up, and even a demon child has to eat something."

Asriel gave a hum and nodded as he looked at the TV. "...Hey, bro... what games are here for the Playstation?"

"Should be in one of the drawers somewhere." he said. "If I remember correctly... I have Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, and some Monopoly game."

"You're going to have to show me how one of these work." Asriel said as he was looking through the drawers, trying to find the game. "I've never played one of these things before."

"I don't doubt that." Chara said as he put the phonebook down and began walking to where Asriel was to help him figure out how a Playstation works. "Alright, hold on. I'm coming."


	7. Dealing With A Devil

Chapter 7

Dealing With A Devil

They had spent hours upon hours scouring every inch they could of Mount Ebott, looking for Chara, or any signs that he was there recently, but none were to be found. If Chara was there at any point, it wasn't for quite some time.

"Damn it... I had really hoped that I would have gotten the chance to crush him here and now." Undyne growled as she slammed her fist into the palm of her other hand in anger. "Oh, if he was here to get my hands on, I'd make sure he'd get a lot more than a dunking."

"Seems like the kid isn't going to be making things any easier for us." Sans said as he looked at the sunset. He had done a lot more work than he would have liked to have done in his entire life, looking for some sign of Chara nonstop with all the others for straight hours. He wasn't used to this kind of work, and he never wanted to be used to it.

"He doesn't appear to be here..." Papyrus said as he looked up at the peak of Mount Ebott. "...Is there a chance that he could be in the Underground?"

"I-if he w-was in the Underground..." Alphys started. "I... w-wouldn't think... he could find Frisk so quickly... he h-has to be somewhere up on the surface... we just don't know where."

Frisk remained quiet as she looked up at the mountain. She remembered the time that she had fell into the Underground... what seemed like a disaster at first actually led to something spectacular, making friends with so many different monsters, and freeing them from the prison they had down there. She gave a shudder as she remembered the ambition that had driven her to go up there in the first place. She kept it to herself the whole time, and even now, nobody knew why she went up there that day.

"We're starting to lose the sun." Sans said as he gave a little yawn. "...I think that for now, our best bet is to rest here for the night, see if we can find him somewhere else later."

"Why sleep here?" Papyrus questioned. "Wouldn't it be a lot safer for us to go back to one of our houses to rest?"

"Aside from Chara and whatever magical creatures he can summon, who exactly would we have any issues with if they start something?" Sans asked. "Besides, it doesn't matter whether or not we go to someone's house or not. Chara was able to find Frisk within less than two hours after she left Toriel's house, so no matter what we do, he's eventually going to find us..." Sans gave another yawn and stretched. "I just want to rest here because I don't feel like walking all the way back to our house."

"Sans, you're so unbearable lazy." Undyne said with a roll of her eyes. "Sometimes, it really amazes me how you and Papyrus are actually brothers."

"W-well... S-Sans may have a point, Undyne... I mean... a-at least about Chara... f-finding us no matter where we go." Alphys said as she looked around. "M... maybe we could... set up some kind of c-camp here?"

"It might just be our best option." Sans said as he looked over his shoulder to Asgore and Toriel. "Yo, Asgore. Toriel. What do you two think?"

Neither Asgore nor Toriel replied. They just kept their backs turned and kept to themselves as they both stood away from the rest of the group. "...Hello? Earth to Dreemurs? You two in there?"

Asgore gave a sigh and a nod. "Yes... we'll make a camp here... if you please..." he said as he remained with his back turned.

"...Those two doing alright?" Papyrus questioned. He was about to go over and check on them, but Sans immediately grabbed his hand and stopped him.

"Leave them alone for now, Papyrus." Undyne said. "...I think the two could use a bit of time to themselves."

Asgore and Toriel were, meanwhile, standing there and looking at all of the golden flowers that laid there. They were some of Chara's favorites. "...Do you remember his last days alive, Toriel?" Asgore asked. "...He wanted to see the flowers of his village again... he wanted to have a final glimpse at them before he died..."

Toriel gave a somber sigh and looked on. She remembered those days far too well. "...Yes... I remember." she said. "...I remember having a bar of chocolate in the fridge for him... waiting and silently hoping for the day that he would get better from his illness... I would let him have the chocolate as a sign of celebration that our son had come out, alive and well..."

Asgore nodded and sighed. "...I remember the day that they once made me that butterscotch cinnamon pie..." Asgore said with a little sad chuckle as he could feel his hands trembling. "...They mistook the cups of butter part of the recipe to be buttercups, and put the flowers in my pie instead... they were so... excited to give it to me... and I remember... taking a... bite of the pie... and... I..." The king of the monsters could no longer take it. He fell to his knees and buried his face in his hands and began to cry.

"Oh, Asgore..." Toriel said as she put her hands on his shoulders and knelt with him, trying to console him, even though she was just as sad and broken as he was.

"...I feel like I could have done much better..." Asgore said in a broken voice between sobs and cries as he mourned over the memory of his sons. "...I was their father... I tried my best to love them and care for them more than anything... was it not enough?... Where did I go wrong?..." He continued to cry on his knees. He had held this sorrow of his in for a very long time now, and now that Chara was alive, but much more sinister than ever, he could no longer hold these emotions back.

"...It's my fault. It's all my fault... if only I had been there for his life... if only I could have helped him through the illness..."

"There was nothing more you could have done than what you did." Toriel said and gently leaned him to her in an embrace. "...We both raised and loved him with all of our hearts and souls, just like Asriel... I don't know what could have driven Chara down the path he takes now... but you're not to blame for it... none of us are..."

Asgore hugged Toriel close as the two shared a well needed comforting embrace. The two of them actually seemed to be getting back together through this whole predicament.

"...Tori... is there any hope left... for Chara, I mean." Asgore started as he took the bud of a flower and gently held it in his strong hand. "...Is there... any chance... we could bring him back into our family?..."

"...I don't know, Asgore... I truly don't know..." Toriel said. "...All we can do now is wait... and hope that Chara can give us the chance to do that..."

Frisk remained silent as she heard the whole conversation while she continued to stare up at that mountain. She felt like she had caused her friends and family so much pain and suffering today... and at the same time, she didn't have any clue as to why it was happening... this deal that Chara keep referring to... is what Chara says nothing but lies, and just an attempt to gain Frisk's soul?... Or was what Chara said really true?... Either way, Frisk knew that somehow, the dreams that she had been having the past couple of nights before today and Chara were somehow connected.

Were the dreams some kind of vision to the future of what will happen when Chara gets what he wants? Were they just little mind games that Chara had been sending her throughout the time period to try and mess with her and weaken her state of mind? She really didn't know... she had to find out some time... but she didn't want any of her friends hurt in the process.

They ended up setting up camp, if that could be called so. All it really was was just a couple of pillows and blankets, along with a campfire. At the time they were sitting at the fire, waiting for dinner, it was night time, and the stars were gleaming brightly, while the moon shown its light in its crescent shape.

"Ok, everybody!" Papyrus said as he got the pot out from the fire. "Who's ready for some of Master Chef Papyrus's Blueberry Ravioli?"

There was a bit of silence from just about everybody. Papyrus gave a chuckle. "Ah. By your silence, I can tell that you've never heard of such a mouth-watering dish before. Well tonight is going to be a night to change all of your lives!"

"If we even live through supper that is." Sans muttered quietly with a chuckle. He took a plate and had Papyrus give him some. He began to eat it to make sure that Papyrus didn't feel bad.

Papyrus also got some for Undyne and Alphys. Undyne gave a little shudder at hers. "You know... I've learned a neat trick about t-tasting things." Alphys whispered quietly to Undyne. "If y-you don't breathe through your n-nose while you eat, you won't t-taste it as much."

"Have you ever tried that with Papyrus's cooking?" Undyne questioned.

"...Well... no... but..." Alphys looked at the ravioli. It was ravioli with bluish-purple spots all over it, which was supposedly the blueberry, and covered in regular ravioli sauce. The smell of the sauce didn't really smell right, though. "...F-first time for everything... right?..."

Asgore and Toriel both got their blueberry ravioli. "Thank you, for making this meal for us, Papyrus." Asgore said with a polite nod. He and Toriel both looked at each other, knowing that neither of them was really going to be eating that.

"Not a problem, Asgore. I made sure to use the finest ingredients I have. And trust me, you won't believe what's inside of the ravioli. It's going to blow your mind and change your perceptions of master cooking forever. Nyeh heh heh heh!"

Undyne got a piece of ravioli on her fork and was about to see if what Alphys told her was true, but then glanced up and looked at Sans. Sans was eating the food to make sure his brother didn't feel bad, and it was clear that he hated it. The sight of every single agonizing bite that he had to take, and every single piece of ravioli that he forced himself to choke down was almost as stomach wrenching as the food itself.

Papyrus got to Frisk and was ready to serve her the ravioli. "Your plate, Frisk?"

"...No thank you." Frisk said as she looked up at him. "I'm not hungry right now." She didn't really sound very enthused or happy. In fact, she sounded kind of regretful.

"Hey... what's the matter?" Papyrus questioned as he put the pot down and sat down by her. "You seem a little down."

"...Well... I've been doing a little thinking..." Frisk started as she looked at all of her friends as they sat around the fire. "...And... I've been thinking... maybe... you guys should go back home... maybe... I should look for Chara by myself."

Immediately, the atmosphere of everybody around the campfire changed. Once everybody heard what Frisk said, everybody looked at Frisk. "...Come again?" Sans said as he put his plate down.

"...Guys... I know you all are just trying to help me... and I can't thank you enough for that..." Frisk gave a sigh and looked at the fire intently as she went on. "...But... I don't want any of you guys getting hurt... Chara's after me... not any of you... me... and you guys might only get hurt in the process... so... if I go alone, then I won't have to worry about-"

"Frisk..." Asgore started. "...Child... I know that you only think for our good when you say that... but what you've just said is something that we're not going to allow."

"But... Chara just wants me... he doesn't want any of you..."

"I wouldn't really say that." Sans said with a little shrug. "I mean, after I kicked the crap out of him that one time, I'm sure he would love nothing more than a piece of me."

"And I'm not going to go without ripping that brat apart." Undyne said as she gripped the fork on her plate tight. "That son of a bitch messes with any one of us, than he messes with me too, and that's a mistake I'm not going to let him live to regret."

Alphys looked down nervously. "I-I don't know what I w-would be able to do to help... but I'm with all the o-others... I won't leave you... n-not when somebody is threatening any of my friends."

"Ai. We aren't going to let anybody mess with our pal and get away with it, I promise you that." Papyrus said as he patted Frisk's shoulder.

"What we're saying, Frisk, is that all six of us are with you... no matter what happens, or what we have to go through to put a stop to our adoptive son... we'll go through all of it together." Toriel said.

Frisk sighed. "...Thank you... all of you." she said as she looked at her hand. "...I'm sorry I have to cause you so much stress... if only I knew what Chara was hunting me for..."

"Whatever reason he has, it doesn't matter." Undyne said. "All I care about is if he fucks with one of us, he's gonna pay for it."

Sans gave a nod. "Yeah. The next chance I get to teach that brat a lesson, I'm going to make sure that I don't let him go."

Frisk gave a nod and a little smile. She was happy to have her friends with her to support her through this, though she was genuinely afraid for them.

"Alright, everybody... let's not get sour faces." Papyrus said as he got himself a plate of his own blueberry ravioli. "Let's all sit back and enjoy Master Chef Papyrus's famous blueberry ravioli." He took a bite of his own cooking and froze up.

All heads turned to Papyrus as he just remained frozen in spot as he got a taste of his own cooking. "...You ok, Papyrus?" Toriel asked.

"..." Papyrus gave a little shudder and forced himself to swallow the ravioli, but dumped the rest of what was on the plate back into the pot and shuddered. "Alright... that wasn't a very successful recipe experiment." he said.

Sans gave a chuckle and patted Papyrus's shoulder. "Yeah. Might not want to make that again any time soon."

After that little mismatch of a dinner, everybody would do their own thing, if not going to bed then and there. The only ones that really decided to sleep right after that were Sans and Frisk.

Frisk laid on the ground with her pillow under her head and her blanket over her body. She gave a sigh as she tried to think of any answer as to this deal with Chara, but couldn't find any. Having no clue as to what to think, she just closed her eyes and let herself drift off in her sleep.

* * *

She opened her eyes slowly and looked around the surroundings of her location. She was still at Mount Ebott, but everything seemed misty and wavy, like some kind of dense fog was distorting the entire world.

She got up and looked to and fro, but couldn't find any sign of any of her friends. The campfire was gone, her friends were nowhere to be seen, and the only thing that she could see was mist and golden flowers.

"...Hello?... Anybody?" she called out as she began walking to find somebody. "...Asgore?... Papyrus?... Anybody?..."

She walked all around, searching to and fro until she came to the foot of the mountain and looked up at it. Something about that mountain was giving her a strong urge to scale to the top of it again. A burning sensation in her heart was drawing her to the peak of the mountain. She didn't know what to think of it, but she knew that she wasn't going to get any answers by just standing there and thinking about it. She began to slowly climb up Mount Ebott.

With each inch she crawled up the mountain, she felt a familiar sensation of when she first came to the mountain; feelings that she had long since abandoned after her adventures in the Underground were starting to crawl back upon her. She tried her best to ignore them, but with each inch she scaled higher, the stronger those feelings felt. They were getting slowly too much as she began to approach the peak.

When she got there at the peak, she was standing at the very top of the mountain, looking down at the hole that led to the Underground, the exact same hole that started it all with her adventure. She was reminded about the time she first fell into the Underground, the first time she met Asriel in the form of Flowey, and her entire adventure that would eventually lead to her befriending the monsters and freeing them from the prison that they had been sealed away in for years.

She stared at the hole in the top as her heart began to race and her breathing getting a little bit clammy. She stared down into it as she remembered the day she fell in all too well. The feelings of the past were starting to become overwhelming to her. She was slowly spreading her arms out and closing her eyes, as if she was getting ready to hurl herself off of the edge.

"Feeling reminiscent, are we?" The familiar voice speaking snapped Frisk right out of her trance.

She glanced over at the other side of the peek, and who else would she find besides the same boy that had been trying to take her soul all day today? He wore a red and black striped tuxedo, and also wore a black business hat on his head. The only real way to tell that it was him were those eyes of his and his rosy red cheeks, which was a trait uncommon in any boy.

"Chara!" Frisk exclaimed as she began to back away a bit.

"Calm yourself, Frisk." Chara said with a sigh as he held his hand out to gesture her to stop. "...I didn't come to kill you or take your soul... this time, at least."

Frisk stopped backing up when Chara said that and looked at Chara as he just stood there, looking at her. "...Well... then why did you come here?" she questioned. "Better yet... where am I? Where did you take me?"

"Nowhere, really. At least nowhere that you've never been to, before." Chara said with a hum as he walked closer to her. "This is what you may consider your subconscious. In the night, when you go to sleep and shut down your for the night, your subconscious remains on throughout the whole time. I've merely made my way into your subconscious to have a little chat."

"...And I take it you're the one that's giving me this dream?" Frisk questioned.

"Well... actually no." Chara looked down at the hole as well. "The reason you're having this dream is because of the mountain... it's reminding you of a couple of memories that you've been trying to hide from yourself."

Frisk remained quiet and looked back at the hole. Her having this dream because of her past experiences, and now being there at the mountain...

"...You know... whether or not you realize this, we're not exactly that different, you and I." Chara said as he sat down, his legs hanging off the edge of the hole. He took of his hat and tried to fix his hair, as it was standing up a bit from the hat. "Ugh... dang hat... messes up my hair."

"...And how do you come to that conclusion?" Frisk questioned as she hesitantly sat beside him.

"Because my hair was fixed and combed before I put this on." Chara said as he pointed to the hat in his hand. "And every time I take this thing off, my hair stands up a little bit-"

"No. I mean what you said before that." Frisk said with a little sigh. "I mean what makes you think that you and I aren't so different?"

"Oh... I knew that." Chara lied as he got his hair fixed and sat the hat by him. "Well, we both have our determination, and both of us just really don't know when to stop." he said. "We both have had our bad experiences in the past... and we both came up on the mountain and went down into the Underground for the same reason."

Frisk felt her fists tighten when she heard that. What Chara just said struck a little nerve with her, and Frisk very rarely got irritated. "...Don't you talk as if you know." Frisk said. "...You have no idea and would never understand why I went up here that day... you wouldn't know anything of why I went down there."

"Oh, is that what you think?" Chara questioned. "Hmmm... interesting... you'll find the truth soon enough."

There was silence as both of them remained sitting by each other. It was honestly the first time that Frisk could remember that Chara and her were met with each other without Chara trying to kill her. Frisk decided that Chara was telling the truth, since if this really were a trick and Chara just waiting for her to get off guard before he attacked, he would have done so by now. Nevertheless, she kept a vigilant eye out, just in case he tried something funny.

"...You know, I've been thinking earlier today." Chara said. "...I've been thinking that perhaps I've been trying to reach you the wrong way... I mean... why bother just trying to get everything from you by force? We're reasonable people, right?"

Frisk remained quiet and looked at Chara. "...Ok, maybe I'm not the most reasonable person in the world, alright? Bite me." Chara said. "But I am reasonable enough to know when a tactic of mine isn't working... and when that time comes, perhaps it's time to change my tactics."

"...And I suppose you're going to try to convince me to just willingly come to you." Frisk said. "...You expect me to just listen to what you have to say and walk right over to you?"

"Well... close." Chara said. "No, what I'm here to bring up is... how you say... an offer."

Frisk kept her gaze intently on him. "...An offer, hm?... Alright, Chara. You've got my attention."

Chara gave a nod and went on. "Well, thinking about it in hindsight, I believe you and I can come to a reasonable understanding... you want nothing more than to make sure your friends don't get hurt... I want nothing more than to wipe out all the humans that live on this planet... and you would be willing to do anything for your friends."

Frisk didn't reply. He had a good point, and she felt like she had an idea of what exactly he was going to say next.

"...Here's the deal." Chara said. "...You come to me... by yourself... and willingly cooperate with me... and I promise... I won't harm any of your friends in the process. Any of those monsters that you deem to be worthwhile keeping alive for your soul... I won't lay a single finger on the hairs of their heads... or some other part of them, if they don't have hair."

"...You'll spare all of them?... Even Sans?" Frisk questioned.

Chara gave a little grimace and looked down, grumbling at the thought of not harming Sans. He wanted so bad to rip him apart for humiliating and seriously hurting him in there meeting.

"...Yes." he said. "...ALL friends that you would want me to spare will not perish... not even Sans."

"...And just how do I know you'll keep your word?" Frisk questioned as she looked at him deep in the eyes. "Once you have my soul, you won't have anything to worry about from me... so how do I know that right after you take my soul, you won't go on and harm my friends?"

"Hmhmhm. You really do think of everything, don't you?" Chara questioned.

"Not really, no. I'm just smart enough to know that villains have a tendency to say anything and make any promises to get what they want." Frisk said.

"Hmhmhm... well, I guess in that regard, without taking my word for it, you wouldn't know... plans DO have a habit of changing, and nothing is ever set in stone..." He gave a hum and stood up as he took his hat.

"...You don't really expect me to take that deal, do you?"

"That's another thing that makes you and I similar, Frisk... you're unpredictable... I don't really know what to expect from you." he said as he put the hat back on. "Part of me hopes that you'll take my offer and end this here and now... but another part of me... really wants to crush your friends and kick your ass... so no matter what decision you'll make... I'll be happy."

Frisk gave a sigh and a nod. "...If that's the case, if you'd be happy with destroying my friends... then why bother offering this deal to me?"

"...Let's just say... you've got friends looking out for you." Chara said as he began to slowly disappear. "Think about everything I've said, Frisk... I'll talk to you later... believe it."

After Chara faded away and Frisk closed her eyes, she opened them again to find her back laying in the field of golden flowers.

It was still dark out, and when she looked around, everybody was there. Sans was sleeping quietly with the back of his head resting on his hands, Alphys and Undyne were snuggled close to each other in their sleep, and Asgore and Toriel were sleeping close to each other.

Papyrus was standing guard of the camp and looked to and fro. He was on the look out for Chara and any of his pals that might come by to pay them a visit. They would be ready if they came that night.

Frisk gave a sigh and looked at the sky again. "...Just a dream." she said quietly as she put her head back on the pillow and closed her eyes again to try and get back to sleep, making sure that she kept the words of Chara fresh in her mind.


	8. Beginning a Man Hunt

Chapter 8

Beginning a Man Hunt

"Alright... so... as you all know... when I tried to cook us supper last night... it turned out to be kind of... well... I tried to experiment with a few ingredients, and it didn't turn out very well." Papyrus said as he and the others sat at the campfire while Toriel was getting something together for breakfast. "So... I, Master Chef Papyrus, have decided to... let somebody else have a chance in making something for breakfast... since... I don't know how to make much else besides pasta."

"Well, hey. To the very least the cooking didn't end up too terrible." Sans said as he patted Papyrus's shoulder. "I mean, it's not like anybody died from your cooking or anything."

"Well, of course nobody died from my cooking, Sans." Papyrus said. "After all, I AM Master Chef Papyrus, right? If anybody else were to experiment with those kinds of ingredients, their meal would have surely been unbearable to eat."

"I'm not sure anybody would have experimented with blueberries and ravioli in the first place, Papyrus." Toriel said while she continued to get breakfast around. "I don't think I've ever heard of anything like blueberry ravioli before."

"Well, that's because all the other chefs in the world don't have the culinary creativity from yours truly." Papyrus said as he pointed to his head.

There was a moment's silence. Nobody really knew what to talk about. This was only the second time all seven of them were in the same place at the same time. They had always wanted to get together again like this after they had left the Underground, though they all wished the circumstances of them meeting would have been a little better.

"...So... Frisk... did you rest well last night?" Asgore questioned. "You didn't have any nightmares, did you?"

"Uh...well... I slept alright." Frisk said. "I... I don't think I can consider it a nightmare... but I think I did have a dream last night."

"Oh? And wh-what was it about?" Alphys questioned. She wasn't sure what Asgore was talking about nightmares, but she assumed that it was a bit important to them if he brought it up.

"Well... I..." Frisk started to think about what she should tell them, but she soon began to wonder if she should even tell them about the dream to begin with. She knew that they were already a bit stressed about what she said last night, about going on by herself and looking for Chara without them, and she knew that telling them that Chara had offered her that deal would only make them even more paranoid.

 _You come to me... by yourself... and willingly cooperate with me... and I promise... I won't harm any of your friends in the process. Any of those monsters that you deem to be worthwhile keeping alive for your soul... I won't lay a single finger on the hairs of their heads... or some other part of them, if they don't have hair._

"...Uh... I... I can't really remember." Frisk lied. "All I remember is standing at the top of Mount Ebott by myself, looking down at the hole that led to the Underground... that's it."

Toriel gave a hum and looked as Frisk looked back to the fire. "...Are you sure that's all you remember?" Toriel questioned. She wasn't really convinced that Frisk was telling the truth. To her knowledge, Frisk had never lied before, but there was something about how she looked at the fire and how she said that she didn't remember the dream that didn't really sound very reassuring.

"...Yes... that's all I remember." Frisk said with a nod looking up at Toriel.

"..." Toriel gave a nod and went back to fixing the breakfast around. "Alright then... well... maybe as we go along later today, you might be able to get your memory jogged up."

"Speaking of later, are you almost done cooking yet?" Undyne said as she gave a sigh. "I didn't eat any of that blueberry pasta stuff after seeing Papyrus dumping it back in the pot, and I'm hungry."

"I'm working on it, Undyne." Toriel replied calmly. "You can't rush when it comes to cooking. You have to give each and every step in making something the most precise and thorough care when making such foods. There's never any sense in rushing anything, when you can take your time and have it turn out much better."

"...Care and taking time?" Papyrus questioned and looked at Undyne, the one who had given him his 'cooking lessons'. "...You told me to cook hard and fast, like one would fight in a battle."

Alphys gave a little snicker and tried to keep herself from laughing. That was so like Undyne to teach something like that.

"...I... well... uh..." Undyne said as she looked down. She didn't have to worry about Papyrus being in the Royal Guard or not anymore, but she knew that Papyrus was kind of easy to upset, so she didn't want to kill his mood by telling him she taught him nothing but bullshit in the hopes of Papyrus reconsidering joining the Guard.

Asgore gave a little clear of his throat as he could sense Undyne's distress. Undyne had voiced a number of her concerns of Papyrus being a part of the Royal Guard during Asgore's visits, and he had known about Undyne thinking Papyrus was too nice to be a part of the Royal Guard. The only reason that neither he nor Undyne did anything about it was because of how determined Papyrus was to be a part of the guard.

"Well... everybody has their different styles of cooking and preparing foods, Papyrus. For instance, my wi-" He stopped himself before he finished that word, and Toriel glanced up at him. It was difficult to see exactly what emotion she had in her eyes. "...I mean, Toriel's style is taking her time and making sure the food is in its best condition beforehand... and Undyne, because of being the head of the Royal Guard, has learned to cook fast and get it done in a hurry."

"Wait a minute!" Papyrus started. "...Are you telling me that all this time, I, 'Master Chef' Papyrus, have only been taught the ways in one style of cooking?"

"It would appear so, and I'm sure in the style that Undyne had taught you, you really are a master of your arts... however, there are many other culinary styles out in the world that can all lead to having the food you make taste different depending on the methods used to cook it."

"Ah... so the human world has culinary secrets that have been hidden from me in the Underground." Papyrus said while rubbing his chin with his finger in thought. "...Well, no more shall these arts remain out of my knowledge! Rest assured, as soon as Chara is defeated and the world saved, I, the Great Papyrus, Master Chef and Savior of Man and Monster, shall learn all culinary styles, and become the greatest chef known throughout the world! Nyeh heh heh heh heh heh!"

Undyne gave a relieved sigh and a nod. Asgore had really gotten her out of a tough situation right there.

In about two minutes, Toriel had finished the breakfast. Frisk honestly couldn't really tell what it was; it looked like some kind of chowder of sorts, though she couldn't quite make out what all was in it. Nonetheless, it was quite pleasant in taste, especially when compared to what she's seen of Papyrus's cooking so far. Everybody ate theirs up happily.

After their breakfast, they wasted no time in packing up and getting ready to look for Chara again. Deciding that they didn't have any more leads to where he could possibly be, they decided to search throughout the city to see if they found anything that would stand out.

There were definitely quite a number of staring eyes and a few people backing up as they walked around, searching. It was apparent that even though they could coincide with each other now, none of the humans were used to having monsters walking the same street or road or sidewalk that they did.

"Th-there are so m-m-many people... st-staring at us." Alphys said nervously as she felt all eyes peering at them.

"Yeah. It's pretty distracting, ain't it?" Sans said. "People here looking at us like they've never seen a couple of walking skeletons before."

"...Well... in all honesty, they haven't." Frisk said. "...I mean, humans have skeletons in their bodies... but I don't think that they've ever really seen a skeleton without flesh and skin around it walking around the city."

"Wow... humans are so weird." Papyrus said as he glanced at all of them. "We didn't just stand there and stare when we saw Frisk walking over to us for the first time, and she was a human in a monster's world."

"Right, we didn't. We just tried to kill her when we got the chance." Sans said with a joking chuckle. This earned him the glaring eyes of Toriel on him. She usually didn't mind joking around, though she didn't like him joking about trying to kill Frisk. "...What?" Sans questioned, as if there was nothing wrong with what he just said.

"Well, what about monsters that look like me?" Undyne questioned. She was starting to get really sick and tired of everybody staring at her. She crossed her arms and began to tap her fingers on them impatiently. "Have they ever seen monsters like me before?"

"Uh..." Frisk looked at Undyne and took the time to consider that she couldn't recall seeing any other monsters that looked like Undyne. "I... I don't know... maybe in a horror story or on Halloween, but those are just movies or costumes. I don't think they've ever seen an actual... uh..."

"...Well?" Undyne said as she glanced at Frisk. "You don't think they've ever seen an actual what?"

Frisk mentally scrambled for a response. She had no idea what kind of monster she could call any of them, with the exception of Sans and Papyrus, as it was completely obvious that they were skeletons. She didn't know whether different monsters had special names for their types, and she knew that if she said what she thought Undyne looked like, a humanoid fish-like monster, she was going to be really pissed off.

"...I don't think they've ever seen an actual real life monster walk around here before." Frisk said. "I mean... for the most part, it's pretty consistent with having humans and only humans walking around the city... or quite a few other places, for that matter. You might have an event where you see something like a deer in the road or someone walking with their dog, but that's about it."

"Ah... so the human world is familiar with dogs as well." Papyrus said as his bones rattled a bit at the memories of that annoying little white dog that seemed to love nothing more than stealing Papyrus's bones. "Perhaps they will have tips of how to keep them from stealing my bone collection."

Frisk gave a little look up. She was sure that not many people would have such problems like that. She also knew that it may be a bit surprising to Papyrus that human beings actually keep dogs as pets. She was sure that Papyrus wouldn't at all be comfortable with such an idea, and she couldn't help but giggle to herself as she had the thought of Papyrus and Sans keeping a dog as a pet.

For the most part, aside from a bunch of stares, they were still getting absolutely nothing. Nobody was really talking to them, so they weren't getting any information about whether or not Chara was around. They also didn't see anything that looked visually interesting or relating to what they were looking for, so they weren't getting any more leads about where exactly Chara was.

"We're getting absolutely nowhere with this!" Undyne said as she was getting sick of not finding anything and everybody staring at them. "I can't even tell how long we've been looking for this punk, and we haven't found anything about him!"

"There... has t-to be someone... that has a c-clue... where he is." Alphys said. "...Somebody had to h-have seen him at s-some point."

Frisk gave a sigh as she kept glancing over everything she could with her eyes. She looked for someone that looked suspicious, but found nobody. She glanced to and fro to look for something, anything in the city that may have seemed out of the ordinary, but she had absolutely no luck in finding such thing. She looked at the different buildings to see if there was any building or something in the building that may have sparked her interest, and found something at the clothing store, making her stop in place.

At the very back of the store, her eyes caught a certain tuxedo that somehow caught her interest. She couldn't exactly make out all the details in it, so she would have to get a closer look at it.

"Hey, Frisk. You ok?" Asgore questioned. "You look like you seen a ghost."

"I need to go in there for a minute or so." Frisk said as she began to open the door to the clothing store. "You six wait out here, and try not to pick up any fights while I'm in here."

"Wait a minute, what are you doing?!" Undyne questioned as Frisk entered the store and completely ignored her. "Frisk! This is no time to be shopping for clothes! Do you hear me?!"

Frisk gave a sigh as she ignored Undyne again and walked up to the tuxedo and got a closer look. It was striped red and black, and had a black tie to compliment it. It was quite highly priced, at least compared to the prices of the clothing that Frisk had. "This tuxedo... it kind of looks like..."

She instantly remembered her dream, and meeting Chara at the top of that mountain. As the dream came back to her and the words reappearing fresh in her mind as Chara had talked about a hat messing up his hair, she remembered seeing him wearing that exact same suit that she was now looking at. That could only mean one thing...

She ran to the check out and looked at the lady at the cash register. "Ma'am. Do you think you can help me with something?" Frisk questioned.

The lady gave a sigh and looked at her. She smelled of some kind of cheap perfume and very pungent hand sanitizer. She had red hair that went up to cover one of her green leering eyes. "...Ain't you a little young to be here in the store by yourself, kid?" she questioned kind of coldly.

"I'm not on my own, ma'am. I have a few friends of mine with me outside the store right there." She and the lady both looked and they both saw all six of the monsters peering in, trying to figure out what Frisk was doing. Papyrus, seeing the lady looking at him, gave a cheeky grin and waved at her.

"...Oh no. Not another one of you." she said with a groan. "Listen, kid. Take your friends and piss off. I've had enough of people walking around with monsters to last me a whole lifetime."

"A human with monsters?" Frisk questioned. "...What did he look like? What did he buy?"

"Hell should I know!" the woman said. "You try to get every detail of a person when he's got some big as Hell monster that can tear you to shreds glaring at you every five seconds!"

"I... I'm sorry, ma'am." Frisk said. "...Well, do you know of any of the things he bought... or what the monster looked like?"

"Well, not that it's any of your business... but he bought one of those tuxedos over there." she said as she pointed at the red and blacked striped tuxedo that Frisk was just looking at. "The monster that he was with looked like some kind of... Hell, I don't know... a snake with arms and legs... a fishy tail..."

"Was it red on the upper half of its body and green on the lower half?" Frisk questioned.

"Yeah, that-" The woman's one visible eye widened and she glanced over at Frisk as she had just correctly guessed what colors the creature was. "...How the Hell do you know that? Are you with that little creep?"

"No, ma'am... I'm just looking for him, that's all." Frisk said. She recognized the description she was giving the beast. That had to have been Neptune's Hound, and only one person 'alive', if that could be a fair description of Chara, could be able to control a beast like that. "Uh... when did this happen, out of curiosity's sake."

"Somewhere around 12:30 or 1 PM... don't quote me on that though."

Frisk gave a nod. That was somewhere close to the time yesterday that Chara had gotten into Sans and Papyrus's house. "That sounds about right... do you have any idea where the two might have gone?"

"...Oh, yes! I do!" the woman said sarcastically. "Yeah! I just so happened to have asked him where he was going, after he just came in and threw his money on the desk and left with the clothes while he had a killer beast with him that was going to kill me or anybody else if anyone made any move or made any sound that he didn't like! You little idiot kids, always asking the most retarded of questions."

"Alright, alright. I'm sorry..." Frisk said with a sigh. "Could you at least tell me which direction they went?"

The woman gave a sigh and pointed to the direction that Frisk and her friends had come from before she found that place. "If you really must know, the boy gave that freak of his the bag of clothing he took and went that way..." She retracted her finger and pointed her thumb to the opposite direction, which is the direction that Frisk and her friends were walking. "That freak of his took the bag and went the other way."

Frisk nodded. The two had gone separate ways... that was going to make things a bit difficult in deciding which direction to follow. "Alright. Thanks a lot." she said as she turned around and began to jog to the door to inform her friends.

"Hold on a second!" the woman said and made Frisk stop. "If that information I just gave you is really important, I want a little compensation for giving you the information."

Frisk glanced at the woman and saw her holding her hand out in a flat position, her palm facing upwards. "...Oh, alright. I guess I owe it to you." she said as she went back over and put two quarters in her hand. "Here. This is all I have that's worth anything up here."

"...Kid... are you fucking kidding me?" the woman said. "I'm an honest, hard working American woman, trying to work to make a living and pay my taxes, and this is all you're going to give me for helping you out?! What the Hell do you expect me to do with fifty cents?!"

"I don't know. Buy a better perfume, maybe." Frisk said, not realizing that she had just accidentally told her the exact same thing Chara had said before he left.

She just walked out, leaving the woman in there pretty steamed. "God, I hate kids. Idiots always acting like they're so smart..."

Frisk exited the store and was immediately bombarded with questions by the other six. They all ranged from _"_ What the heck were you doing in there?" to "What did that woman say to you?", and even had Papyrus asking, "Do you think that lady likes skeletons?"

"Alright, alright. Hold on a second." Frisk said, getting all the others to stop and look at her. "...Alright... when I was looking in the window, I saw a red and black striped tuxedo... and I remembered something in my dream. I remembered seeing Chara wearing that suit somewhere in there... so I went in and started to investigate, and the woman said-"

"Hold on a second." Toriel said. "Child... you saw Chara in your dream? Did he say anything?"

"I... I don't know." Frisk lied as she looked at Toriel. "All I remember is seeing him on top of the mountain up there with me, I don't remember if he said anything important... but anyway, I asked the lady in that store, and I was right. Chara was in there yesterday, some time before he broke into Papyrus and Sans's house."

"Then we might just have a lead on where he is." Asgore said. "Did the lady say where he went?"

"Well... that's just the issue." Frisk said and looked straight ahead and behind them. "The lady in there said that Chara was with Neptune's Hound when he was in there-"

"Wh-what's Neptune's Hound?" Alphys questioned.

"It was a creature that Chara had brought to life by drawing it inside his notebook. It was the beast that helped Chara attack me and Frisk while I was watching over her." Asgore explained

"Summon monsters from a notebook?!" Undyne exclaimed and looked at them in disbelief. "Why the Hell didn't you tell us that he was able to do that?"

"I did." Sans said looking at her. "I made mention of it back in Papyrus and I's house, remember? What I said about looking away and him summoning a creature from his notebook?"

"That's enough, guys. Let Frisk finish what she was saying." Papyrus said and looked back at Frisk.

"Thank you, Papyrus." Frisk said with a nod before looking back at all of them. "Anyways, as I was saying... Chara and Neptune's Hound left the store... Chara had went that way... the way we just came from..." she said as she pointed in the direction that Chara had went. She then turned around and pointed straight ahead. "...Chara gave Neptune's Hound the clothing that he had bought, and Neptune's Hound went that way."

"Well... that doesn't help us much, does it?" Undyne questioned. "...How the heck are we supposed to know what direction we should follow?"

Papyrus gave a hum and he began to think. "...Frisk, you said that Chara had supposedly been here just a bit before he had went to Sans and I's house, correct?"

"Yes... I did... why?" Frisk asked.

"Hmmmm... aha! Of course!" Papyrus said. "We should keep going in the direction of where the monster had gone. If it was just a short time before he had gone to our house, than he would have been out looking for you after coming to the shop. If that's the case, and Neptune's Hound had the clothes that he had bought, than Neptune's Hound must have gone back to where Chara is at to drop the clothes off! Therefore, if we follow the direction where Neptune's Hound had went, then there's a good chance that we'll be able to find where Chara is at!"

"...You're... you're right." Frisk said as she looked up at Papyrus. "I hadn't thought of it like that. Papyrus, I think you might be right."

"I am?" Papyrus questioned. "...I mean, of course I'm right! I am the Great Papyrus, Master Puzzle Creator! Nyeh heh heh heh heh!"

"...Just one problem with that." Toriel said and looked at the direction where Neptune's Hound went. "...How do we know where exactly Neptune's Hound went? Sure, we know that it left this direction after exiting the store... but that's all we know. For all we know, it could have had several different options of directions to travel to where it had been... if we go out and keep following straight ahead, there's no guarantee that we'll be able to find where exactly Chara is at."

"...Aha! That is... something that I don't think I can think of." Papyrus said as he looked down and rubbed his right arm with his left hand a little bit.

"Hey, don't be so hard on yourself, bro. You got us a starting direction." Sans said as he patted Papyrus's back. "We just need a way to track exactly where that monster had gone, instead of taking guesses of where it could have gone."

"Uh... I... think I m-might be able to get s-something around." Alphys said as she looked down. "...We'll have to go to my house, though. I would need to work on it in there."

"Alright... uh... where's your house then?" Asgore questioned, deciding that they really didn't have much of a choice if they wanted to find where Chara is.

Alphys turned around and began to walk. "F-follow me." she said. The others followed Alphys, hoping that she would be able to find something.

As they began walking, they failed to notice that slowly, where they were just standing, the time and space of that area began to distort and warp. In that area, for a brief few seconds, a mysterious man appeared looking at them. His body appeared too blurry to actually make out had anybody caught sight of him, but his face seemed to be tangible in terms of appearance. The skin on his face was completely snow white, almost like a ghost, and his eyes appeared to be nothing but pitch black sockets, with his right being almost closed with a crack on the head right above it. His mouth was also pitch black and appeared void of any teeth, tongue or anything.

The strange mystery man stared at them from behind for a few seconds before they went out of sight. As soon as they were no longer in his vision, the time and space of where he was began to distort once again, and with a few seconds, the man was gone, and everything appeared to be just normal, as if he were never there.


	9. Requiem of Regret

Chapter 9

Requiem of Regret

Chara had woke up, not in the room that he had specifically remembered having himself and Asriel at the whole time, but rather a room that was all too familiar to him. Painted in the colors of red and royal purple, his favorite, with quite a number of stuffed animals around...

"My... my room..." Chara said as he looked around. Yes, it was true. He was in the room of his former home, when he was still a part of the Dreemur family. It still had that same warm and cozy feeling that he was so used to it having in the past. It felt like here, in this room, all of the troubles that he ever had just melted away and were left behind.

He gave an amazed look around as he stood up and began to look around, trying to figure out how he got there. He was happy to be there again, but at the same time, he knew that he shouldn't be there at all.

"...This must be one of those creatures of mine pulling some kind of prank on me..." he said to himself. "...Alright, guys... yeah... real funny... you really had me taken by surprise... yep... you got me..."

He looked around again, looking at the ceiling and the walls as he was waiting for something to happen, for one of his creations pulling a prank on him. "...Now... if you don't mind... you know... ending the prank here and now, because... starting to get just the slightest bit pissed off with you right now..."

Still no response came from anywhere. Chara took some time to let the sound of silence quietly pound in through his ears and ring out through his head. He usually found silence to be peaceful, a time where he could be on his own and think about everything that occurred to him, and every single thing that he had ever done in his life. It was a place where he actually felt safe, away from what else everybody could possibly say to hurt him.

This silence, however, brought a sense of unease in him. Deep in his chest, he could feel a sensation that he hadn't felt in a long time, his heart pounding with some kind of fear. He had no idea of why he was afraid, neither did he find anything to be afraid of in that room. Yet somehow, he had that little childish fear hidden inside his chest. He hadn't felt that fear in a long time, specifically before he fell in the Underground, when he was always subject to...

"No... don't think of that." Chara told himself with a fast shake of his head to get those memories out of his head. "...That was in the past... you're stronger than you were then... you don't have to worry about it..." He gave a sigh and walked to the door. He was starting to think that this wasn't really a prank that someone was pulling on him. He opened the door quietly and began to walk out, trying to find out the reason for this.

"...Hello?..." he called out as he walked out of the room and began to search around the area. "...Hello?... Anybody here?..."

He had walked into the kitchen and gave a little gasp. He couldn't believe his eyes when he saw who was in there. It was his adoptive parents, and his brother. Toriel, Asgore, and Asriel were all there, sitting at the table... his... his family...

"Ah! Chara!" Asgore said happily as he held up a mug of Golden Flower Tea, his favorite kind of tea. "There you are, sleepyhead. I was starting to think you were going to be sleeping all day."

Asriel looked at Chara with that friendly, happy smile that Chara always loved to see on his brother. He was such a sweet and big hearted monster. Quite shy and unadventurous at times, but still good hearted nonetheless, and was the best brother Chara could have ever asked for in his life. "Hey, Chara! What took you so long? You completely missed out on the new episode of Courage the Cowardly Dog."

Toriel gave a smile at Chara. "It's great to see you're finally up, son. We've all been waiting for you."

Chara sniffled a bit and teared up. He couldn't believe this. His family was there for him. His brother, his best friend who he loved more than anything in the world... his mother, one of the kindest people that has ever been Chara's great pleasure of being acquainted with... Asgore, the King of the Underground who was strong and just, yet also very kind and loving... they were all there for him.

"Asriel... Mommy... Daddy..." he whispered with that smile as all three of them stood and held their arms out for a hug. Chara ran to them and hugged all of them, tears of joy streaming down his eyes and that smile on his face. He felt so happy.

All four of them stood there in the hug, the whole family together. It was a beautiful day outside. Whatever birds were in the Underground were chirping their songs, the flowers outside were blooming beautifully... in was on days like these that Chara could never be happier to have these moments with his family. He cherished them so much, and he could never be any more thankful to be a part of their lives.

As he continued to stand there in the hug, he began to feel something warm drip on his face. It wasn't his tears... it was... something else... something that felt warm and thick on his face... and it had a little unpleasant smell. He opened his eyes slowly to see what was going on.

He gave a gasp to see that from Toriel's torso, there was a huge cut, which was bleeding, and having the blood leak onto Chara's face. He began to panic when he saw Toriel bleeding like that. "M-Mommy! You're bleeding!" he told her and looked up at her. She just kept that smile and looked at him, as if nothing was wrong. "M-Mommy! You're hurt! We need to get you to a hospital!"

"Y... you... really hate me that much?" came Toriel's voice, though it wasn't physically said by Toriel. It just spoke clearly in Chara's head, like some kind of telepathic message of some sort.

Chara looked up at Toriel after he had heard that. "M... Mommy?" he questioned, scared at what he had just heard.

Despite Chara's questioning, Toriel's voice kept talking inside his head. "Now I see who I was protecting by keeping you down here. Not you... but them!"

"M-Mommy... I don't hate you... I love you, Mommy... please, just tell me what's going on." Chara begged and looked at Toriel, his eyes filled with tears of sadness and fear. "Please... tell me what I did wrong."

"Ha... ha..." Toriel said nothing more and she began to disappear, turning into dust and leaving the rest of the family.

"M-Mommy?!" Chara called out and looked around, trying to find a trace of Toriel, but nothing of her remained. She had completely vanished, the only thing left of her being the blood that was spilt from her wound unto Chara's face. Both Asgore and Asriel remained still, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

"D-Daddy... where did Mommy go?" Chara asked as he looked up to Asgore fearfully. "...Daddy... where's Mommy?"

"Now, now. There's no need to fight." came Asgore's voice as it rang throughout Chara's head, just like Toriel's before him. "Why not settle this... over a nice cup of tea?"

Chara gasped. These words that Toriel and Asgore were saying... they were familiar to him. "Daddy... I... I'm not fighting you." he said, that fear building up even more and making his heart pound like never before. "P-please... just tell me what's going on..."

Asgore didn't listen to him as a huge slash mark suddenly appeared in his armor, cut deep enough to reach his flesh, as he too began to bleed unto Chara's face. Chara gasped as the blood of his father was spilling unto him, just like the blood of his mother.

"...Why... you..." Asgore said weakly as he began to disappear, dissipating into dust just like Toriel.

"N-no! Daddy, no!" Chara said as he tried to hold on tighter to Asgore to no avail, he changed into dust and disappeared completely. He was now left with just Asriel, who still seemed like nothing was wrong. Chara could only cling onto Asriel and hold him fearfully. He had absolutely no control over what was happening to his family.

Just when Chara thought that he was away from all of it, the voice of Asriel rang out through his head, just like their parents. "See? I never betrayed you! It was all a trick, see? I was waiting to kill him for you!"

Chara gasped and he hugged Asriel close and tighter. "No! Asriel, not you too!" he cried out. He was so close to sobbing out of control now. He couldn't lose Asriel now, not when he had just lost his mother and father.

"After all, it's me, your best friend!" the voice went on, despite Chara's crying. "I'm helpful, I can be useful to you. I promise I won't get in your way."

"No, Asriel! Please don't go!" Chara begged as he held on tight to Asriel, like it was the end of the world.

"I can help... I can... I can..."

"No, Asriel! I love you! You're the best thing that could ever have possibly happened to me! Just don't go! Don't leave me all alone!" Chara cried as he hugged him closer.

The voice of Asriel began to cry inside Chara's head, crying out of fear. "Please don't kill me." it said as Asriel began to slowly crumble away.

"No! Asriel! You can't leave me! I need you!" Chara said. "Don't go Asriel! Please! I love you!"

It was too late, and in a matter of seconds, Asriel had crumbled into dust and became absolutely nothing, just as his mother and father had disappeared before Chara's very eyes. They had left him there, kneeling down on the ground, desperately looking around to try and find some kind of sign of them still there. They had left Chara all alone in that kitchen.

"No!... Mommy?!... Daddy?!... Asriel?!..." Chara called out, praying, pleading for one of them to return and hold him again, but nobody of his family came. He was all alone.

"Mommy!... Daddy!... Asriel! Please! Come back!" Chara called out as he desperately looked to and fro, searching for a sign of them, but finding nothing. "I promise, I won't do anything to hurt you or make you mad ever again! I promise!... Just please don't leave me all alone!... Come back! Please!" Still no response came from the house, the silence mocking him. and taunting him.

Chara began to cry as he hit the floor with his fist, putting his head onto the floor as he cried like an overgrown baby. He felt like such a scared little child, so afraid of what was happening and being unable to do anything about it, and he hated himself so much for it. He had promised himself he would never be powerless again, and yet here he was, unable to bring back his family or do anything about them disappearing.

From out of nowhere in the house, a voice began to emit through the walls and the floor and the ceiling, everywhere around Chara had this voice. it began to talk in some very, very strange language that almost didn't sound like a language all together. However, despite never having heard the language before, and despite not recognizing the voice at all, Chara was somehow able to understand what the voice was saying.

'Satisfied?' the voice said in that strange language, Chara able to understand it like it was complete English, but at the same time having no idea what the voice was actually saying.

"Who... who are you?" Chara said as he looked around for the owner of the voice, but couldn't find anybody. He remained alone inside the kitchen.

'I am nobody...' the voice said. '...I no longer have any existence past mere memories of the remaining monsters... I am gone, no longer existent... just like you should be, Chara Dreemur.'

"Where... where did my family go?" Chara said as he looked around. "...Please... bring them back..."

'Bring them back? But you wanted them gone.' the voice said as the house scenery seemed to slowly melt away, and in a matter of ten seconds, Chara was kneeling on the ground, everything around him pitch black as the voice went on. 'Don't you remember? You had your puppet kill them all... destroyed the innocence of the girl and had her destroy everyone... your mother... your father... your brother... you killed them all... and for what?... To feed your power?... Because you were afraid of being too weak to matter?'

"...I... I'm so sorry..." Chara whispered as he looked down to the pitch black ground that he kneeled on. "...I... I didn't mean to hurt them... I didn't want to hurt them... I... I was only trying to..." Chara looked at his hands as he was trying to find an excuse, but he couldn't find any. He couldn't think of anything to say about what he had done. "I... I... I'm so sorry..."

'Of course you are... only now do you realize just how weak and hopeless you truly are.' the voice taunted, and slowly something began to appear in the far distance of the dark void. 'How does it feel, Chara? To be so weak and helpless, being able to do nothing but watch your loved ones and everyone you ever cared for disappear before your very eyes... just like I've been forced to do for so long...'

Chara looked at as something... no... someone was becoming visible throughout the darkness. He couldn't see much of it... all he could see was a white head that floated there, one eye closed and the other one lacking any pupil whatsoever. It was literally nothing but a pitch black socket. '...Truly, truly pathetic.'

"Who... who... who are you?" Chara said as he looked up at the being. "...I... I'm sorry I hurt everybody... I... I didn't mean to cause so much harm... p... please... let me have my family back... take me wherever they went, I beg you."

'Ooh... I'm afraid I can't do that, demon child... you've already taken your family away... you've already separated yourself from them... everything that you've ever done in your whole "eternal" life can never be undone, no matter how many times you reset the world like it's your own little play box.' the being said.

"...Please... I... I want to go home." Chara said as he looked down. He missed them so much, and he could feel his sins slowly crawling on his back and weighing him down again. All the voices of the monsters that he had ever hurt were ringing throughout his head, giving him no respite whatsoever.

'You have no home... you have nothing... you're all alone in the darkness... your family is gone... you have nothing but yourself to keep you company... and you have nobody but yourself to blame... forced to suffer on and watch your sins weigh you down...

"But... but..." Chara was mentally scrambling as he was trying to find something to say, something to cushion the blow of the words the being was saying to him, but he couldn't find anything. He had no excuses or reasons that could possibly justify the sins he had committed. He had nothing that could take away the guilt of what he had done. With more fresh tears falling down his eyes, he covered his eyes and looked down, unwilling to even look at the being at all.

'...You are truly sorry about your sins?... If you are truly sorry, then are you ready to put a stop to your actions? Are you ready to accept the consequences of what you've done?' Chara didn't answer as he kept his face down. he couldn't look at the being... he didn't want to. It was scaring him so much, and he could do nothing about it. All he could do is cower in that position of his, silently pleading for it to go away.

In a matter of seconds, however, it seemed that Chara's eyes were forced do open and look at the being's face right up close to his, staring into that one empty black eye socket, which now contained one white pupil that stared at Chara fiercely and glowed with unrelenting hatred.

'ARE YOU READY TO SUFFER FOR YOUR SINS?'

Chara gave a scared gasp and shot right up as he woke up, clutching his chest with his hand and breathing very hard as he was trying to calm down and look at the surroundings around him.

He was back in the room that he had gotten for him and Asriel to stay until he could completely start his plan. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary in the slightest. The sun was shining in from the window, and rom inside the window, he could see a gentle breeze blowing outside. Nothing at all seemed out of the ordinary.

"Asriel..." Chara said as he got up from the bed and began to walk to the room that he had for Asriel. He looked around and hesitantly put his hand on the doorknob, saying a silent prayer as he opened the door.

He found Asriel laying on the bed, silently, not at all responding to his entrance. Chara was still a bit scared and slowly approached Asriel, but soon could hear the very silent snoring that Asriel was projecting. Chara gave a sigh of relief. His brother was just sleeping. He wasn't harmed at all, and he was still there with him.

"... _It was just a dream..._ " he thought to himself with a great sense of relief as he looked down and saw that he was yet in just his underwear. "Gah... I had better get some clothes on before Asriel wakes up." he said to himself as he turned and went back to the room he was resting in.

He got his clothes on and looked at an alarm clock he had on a nightstand. It said that it was currently 11:24 AM. He and Asriel had slept longer than he thought they would.

He gave a sigh and sat down, trying to recollect himself after the events that had transpired in his nightmare. He took a few minutes to close his eyes and calm down, but the face that he had seen in the nightmare still haunted him. He couldn't get it out of his head, nor could he get the words out of his mind.

He glanced over at his other nightstand and had seen a wrapper for Tobasco Spicy Dark Chocolate. He had had one of those right before he fell asleep, he remembered, since he loved chocolate and he liked spicy foods, though not nearly to much of a degree as chocolate. So he thought that a piece of spicy chocolate would have been great, and in terms of taste, he really enjoyed it.

"...Gah... no more spicy chocolate bars before bed for me." he muttered as he went to a trash can and threw the wrapper away, trying to blame what he had just seen in his dream on the midnight snack that he had.

He got up and decided to take a minute to relax and get some fresh air. He could use a little bit of sunlight on his skin anyway. Produces some Vitamin D in the body... even though Chara wasn't exactly sure whether he would even need any Vitamin D at all.

"...Meh. I still eat and drink... maybe I DO need it after all, despite being a demon." he said to himself as he went to get a bottle of water to take with him outside.

He exited the building and walked over to a nearby patch of grass that was right beside it, and just laid down in the sun, drinking some of the water in his bottle. He had always had kind of a soft spot for nature and beautiful days like this one, despite very rarely ever showing it. The warm feeling of sunlight on his skin and the sight of the beautiful blue sky was actually something he missed quite often in the Underground... in fact, it was pretty much the only thing about the surface that Chara had missed in the Underground... well, besides those flowers that he always liked.

The day just seemed so peaceful that Chara could almost fall asleep in that patch of grass, had he not already just woken up. He stared up at the blue sky, watching the small white clouds as they lazily drifted in the bright blue sky. They seemed so at peace, as if there was nothing that could disturb them.

As Chara laid there, staring at the sky, he couldn't help but think about his dream again. " _It was just a stupid dream... it doesn't mean anything to me..._ " he lied to himself, but deep down, he knew that that dream had awakened something in him that Asriel had begun to bring back to him since the beginning; a feeling that, as a demon, he shouldn't have been feeling in the first place...

" _...Remorse..._ "

He was beginning to think that perhaps everything that he had done leading up to this moment in his existence may have been a mistake. Perhaps he wasn't fully aware of just what he was getting himself into, and perhaps he should try to turn back now if he had the chance.

Then again, if there was any truth in that dream whatsoever, it was that what Chara had done, whether or not he restarts the world whenever he wanted to, couldn't be undone. Whether or not he changed the past to make a different future, it didn't undermine the fact that he did what he had done.

" _...Why am I thinking about all this?_ " Chara thought silently to himself and took another sip of water as he held out his hand and let the yellow Human Soul, the Soul of Justice, float out of his body and just above his hand. For the time being, controlling just one Human Soul was absolutely no problem. He knew that he wouldn't be able to control all six of them for very long... five would be quite the leap of faith, and he wasn't entirely sure about four... his goal was to at least be able to control three of them.

" _...I can't look back and regret what I had done... not now... not when I've come so far._ " he argued with himself as he let the soul float on his hand a little bit. " _...I've come too far and gone through too much to let any guilt stand in my way... besides... I'm bringing justice to the humans, just like the Soul of Justice itself._ " He gave a sigh and let the soul go back into his body.

" _...In order to put an end to the evils of humanity... in order to destroy those demons they call humanity, I myself have become a demon... in order to do a greater good for the whole world... I've become the bad guy... and until I cleanse the world of the human scum... I must keep going forward..._ "

He gave a growl and looked back up to the sky and clutched some of the blades of grass in the patch, threatening to rip it out if he tried clutching it any harder. "Gah... I hate it when I'm forced to convince myself of my motives!" he said.

It was absolutely ridiculous. A demon that wants to destroy all of humanity having to try and think about why he wanted to do so. He didn't need any motives for killing every human being! He was a demon, for crying out loud! And yet there he was, laying on the grass in the sunshine and drinking a bottle of water, thinking about whether he should really keep going with what he was trying to do or not.

"...I'm getting too soft." he said as he released the grass from his clutch. "...I'm letting these emotions get to my head... I don't need a motive to kill all of humanity anymore... I don't need to regret any of the sins I've committed... I do them because I'm a demon, plain and simple. I exist solely for death and destruction... that's all I need to know about myself... I don't need anything else..."

Then a thought hit him. If that was the case, if he truly was a demon to begin with, then why did he even bring his own brother back to life in the first place? If he truly was a being that lived for nothing but death and destruction, then why did he keep Asriel alive and safe with him, when he could just as easily have left him as a flower and gone on with his plans when he had the power?

"...God damn it! Stop it!" Chara shouted to himself as he pounded on the dirt once with his fist. "There's no going back! I have to finish what I started!... I can't turn back... I won't..." He gave a shake of his head and stood up. He glanced straight ahead, almost expecting to see Frisk and her friends approaching, but he didn't see anything like that. He knew that it was going to take them quite a while to find out where exactly he was.

"...Perhaps I shouldn't have the patience... to wait for them to find me." he said to himself with a shake of his head.


	10. Duel Between the Hot Heads

Chapter 10

Duel Between the Hot Heads

"...Quite a few of these gizmos of your really bring be back to old times." Sans said as he leaned against the wall of Alphys's 'lab', glancing around at all of the equipment that she had scattered around. "...Really reminds me of a couple of old friends I used to have..."

Frisk had a feeling she knew what he was talking about. She had remembered going into that one building with the key that was in Sans's room. She had seen a strange machine, a set of blueprints and a picture of Sans with a couple of people she didn't recognize. She had wanted to ask Sans all about that ever since he had given her that key to go into his room and find 'the truth', but she had figured that it was something personal if he had kept it as his secret for so long, and decided not to ask about it.

"Just don't touch a-anything." Alphys said as she was tinkering diligently on a device that she was hoping would be able to help lead them to their destination. "All of the e-equipment in this house is v-very delicate... if one b-bad thing happens to any of them, i-it could ruin the entire device f-faster than you can say 'Ghost Nappa'."

"...The heck is a Ghost Nappa?" Papyrus questioned as he stood by Sans, looking at all of the equipment. It all looked quite brilliantly made, and he wanted to know what so many of them did.

"...J-just forget it." Alphys said. "Clearly n-none of you have e-ever seen a single TFS video in your life."

"...What exactly are you working on there?" Undyne questioned as she got close to Alphys and leaned in a little closer to get a good look at it, though making sure she wasn't too close to be obstructing the work on her device. "...Looks like a remote control."

"I-it's not a remote control, Undyne." Alphys said as she continued to tinker the device, getting a little spark to fly up from the machine she was creating as she was screwing something in. "I'm creating a d-device that's going to be able to f-f-find the DNA of this Neptune's Hound creature a-and be able to track down where it had gone. I'm h-hoping that creating this device and getting a s-sample of that creature's DNA would be a-able to find wh-where it and Chara are at."

"But how are you going to be able to get the DNA sample?" Frisk questioned as she was reading a manga that Alphys had given her so she didn't get too curious and touchy with the strange devices that were in the 'lab'. She honestly didn't have much of a clue on what was going on in the manga. "There are probably hundreds of thousands of different DNAs in a single street of New York, how would you even know which one would belong to it?"

"I... well... I-I'll find a way!" Alphys said as she continued working on the device. "...I-in all honesty, I, uh... I really don't know h-how I'm going to get the s-sample I need... b-but once I do, I'll b-be able to get the sample in th-this device, and it'll be able t-to t-track down and single out a-any traces of DNA that m-matches with the sample..."

"So... basically you're trying to make a really complicated tracking device, eh?" Sans said with a hum he looked at a device that was labeled ' **Time Machine** (Not complete)'. "...Well, as long as it gets us finding this Chara fellow, I'm perfectly alright with how advanced it will be."

"I-it'll be very advanced, Sans... you probably w-wouldn't have seen anything l-like it in your life."

"Eh... I would kind of doubt that." Sans said. "It may come to shock you, doc... but I actually know a thing or two about advanced machines. I once worked with a very good scientist before Asgore found you, and I may just know just as much as you do."

"W-well... if that's the case, th-then why aren't you giving me a h-hand with building this device?" Alphys questioned as she glanced back at him.

"Two reasons." Sans said as he held two fingers up. He then put one down to be only holding one finger up. "Number one: You specifically told me and all the others not to touch any of the devices in this room. Technically, that little thingamajig you're working on qualifies since it's a device, and it's in this room, ergo I have been told not to touch it, and therefore cannot lend you a hand." He then held up his second finger with his first and said, "Reason number two: I just plain don't feel like it. You know... after all that walking I did back in the city, and then having to walk all the way back here... I'm just pretty well beat, you know? Kind of just want to kick back and relax a bit."

"I still don't understand how you two can possibly be related." she said as she looked at Papyrus and Sans. "Papyrus is determined as all heck and willing to do anything to help, while you... you're so unbelievably lazy, I'm sure a slug can get more work done than you."

"Hey, hey, hey." Sans said. "...Need a remind you that I'm working at three jobs? I bet a slug wouldn't be able to take care of three jobs."

"Three?" Frisk questioned as she looked back at him. "...I thought you only had two."

"I did, but now I have three." Sans said as he counted his fingers. "Official Judge of the Judgment Hall, Hot Dog Stand Runner, and, as of yesterday, official Finder and Punisher of spoiled demon children."

Papyrus gave a little roll of his eyes. Sans would say just about anything and bend any situation to what he said to make it appear that he did more work than he ever really did. "Oh, Sans..."

"I hope you're going to be finished with that thingamajig sometime soon." Undyne said. "I don't know what exactly that Chara creep is doing while we're here, trying to get this thing working..."

"D-don't worry, Undyne." Alphys said and patted her shoulder. "I-I'm just getting a couple l-last adjustments. It sh-should be complete in around a couple of minutes... but in the m-meantime..."

"Hey! Everybody!" came Asgore's voice as both he and Toriel came running over to them.

"Oh. Asgore, Toriel." Papyrus said. "What's up."

"We were watching to make sure we didn't get any suspicious company that approaches the house while you're working on that, and... well..." Toriel gave a little uncomfortable sigh and went on. "...Do you remember telling us to come over and tell if you if we think we may have an issue?"

"Y-yes..." Alphys said. "Wh-why?... Do you think we may have an issue?"

"No..." Asgore said with a shake of his head. "...We KNOW we have a problem now."

As if on cue, as he said it, there was a knock on the door. Everybody froze up and remained quiet, not daring to make any movements. There was another knock on the door, this time being a little firmer.

Still nobody said or did anything, and after a few seconds, the knocking had escalated to straight up pounding on the door, everyone hearing the sound of a fist slamming against the door constantly, as if it were trying to break the door down. The knocking remained constant; whoever was at the door wasn't going to be leaving until they were allowed in.

"...Frisk... o-open the door." Alphys said as she stopped working on the device for a minute, feeling a sense of unease. "...See who it is."

"Ok, Alphys..." Frisk said quietly as she hesitated for a second before beginning to walk on the door, the constant barrage of the pounding continuing. "H-hey! Hold on a second. I'm coming." Frisk called out, and in response, the pounding had stopped and it was quiet again. Frisk walked to the door and hesitated one more second before slowly opening the door.

When she opened the door, she found... a person... a man who she had never seen before. He was wearing black shoes, a pair of blue jeans and a light green long sleeved shirt. His skin was lightly tanned, and his hair was the color of flaming reddish-orange, and slicked back with it hanging out at the back of his head, looking like the shape of a flame. The only real strange things were his eyes, as instead of being the shape of circles like most everybody else, the man's eyes were more triangular shaped, looking more like the shape of Asriel's eyes when he was in his God of Hyperdeath form.

"Good morning, ma'am. I was wondering if you were going to open the door." the man said as he walked in calmly. Frisk was about to close the door, but stopped and gasped as something was coming in behind the man. It had been just a whole day since she had seen it, and Frisk could never ever forget that serpent-like body, half red and half green, with arms and legs, a tail, and fins protruding from certain parts of its body. Neptune's Hound walked in and glanced over at Frisk, giving a little growl. Seems like it hadn't forgotten her either.

After the little growl, Neptune's Hound gave a little snort and continued to walk behind the man, the sharp claws on his hands scraping against the metal floor. "...Chara had said that this place would be easy to find for me." the man said as he looked around, taking in the sight of the strange shapes devices. "...The two of us had gotten lost five or six different times... we wouldn't have been able to find are way here had we not had our little cloaked friend already in here."

As he said this, Sans looked back at the device that read time machine, and watched as it slowly began to fade away. In its place appeared a black ghost-like figure with two arms, having only one visible red eye on the left side of its head.

Alphys stared shock as the ghostly being went over beside the man. She couldn't believe it. How could she have missed there being a device in her lab that wasn't there in the first place? She was so focused on starting the device she was working on, that she hadn't taken the time to notice that there was something in her lab that wasn't there in the first place.

"Who are you?" Undyne said as she stood bravely and looked at them. "...You mentioned Chara... are you friends with that little creep?"

"Oh, how silly of me." Hothead said. "Here I am barging into your house, and I haven't even introduced myself yet... I never was one on manners." He gave a chuckle and gave a little bow. "My name is Hothead, and as you have said, I'm a friend of Chara, AKA: that little creep." He pointed beside him to the cloaked being and said, "This is my little stealthy friend, Illusionare. Clever little fella, ain't he? Able to stay in one spot for a very long time and never get found." He then pointed to his other side as Neptune's Hound walked to his other side, keeping his glare on Asgore. "And from what I've heard, you've already met Neptune's Hound before."

"What do you want... 'Hothead'?" Papyrus questioned. "You have no business being here. Get lost."

"Oh, on the contrary, I'm afraid you're wrong..." Hothead started calmly, but as he said the next part, he said it very firmly, as if he was pissed off by something that Papyrus had said. "I have my own business being here, you brainless oaf."

Papyrus gave a growl, taking insult to that statement. Both Sans and Undyne gave a growl and took a threatening step forward. Sans may pick on him from time to time and 'plague his life' with that music of his, but he still really cared and would do anything for his brother. As for Undyne, she may be tough and sometimes call them geeks or nerds, but she really cared for all of her friends just the same, and would gladly fight anybody that would hurt or insult them.

Before either of them took another step, Neptune's Hound took a step forward with its one arm, his fins standing up in a threatening position and he growled warningly at the two, telling them to back off and take no further steps. Its growling allowed everyone to see its razor sharp teeth, looking sharp and powerful enough to snap iron and crush stones.

Hothead looked at the two and then back to Neptune's Hound and gave an amused chuckle as he crossed his arms. As he did, Neptune's Hound retracted its one step and remained standing there, its fins still up and it still looking cautiously at Frisk's friends. "Anyways, as I was saying, Illusionare here says that you've been working on a special machine that would help track us down to where we are... now... as much as I love a good old game of hide n' seek... I have the teeniest, tiniest problem with you having that little device... so... if you wouldn't mind handing it off to me, and I'll be on my way."

"You're not getting this device." Asgore said as he began to walk forward. Neptune's Hound lowered its body like a cat ready to pounce, growling as it was ready to strike as Asgore approached the man, but Hothead put his hand in front of Neptune's Hound, gesturing it to not do anything and let the King of the Monsters approach.

"...The device that we are making is the only chance we have in finding my adopted son... you can't have it."

"Oh?" Hothead said with a hum as he raised his one eyebrow a bit in interest as he smirk. "Is that a known fact?"

"Listen, Hothead... we don't want to fight you at all. We've had enough fighting for quite some time." Asgore said. "...If you know what's good for you... I highly suggest that you and your two friends take your leave... we would rather not hurt you."

"Oh is that so?" Hothead questioned as he looked at everybody there. That was a bit of a problem for him, because he was itching for a fight right now. Was there one person among Frisk's friends that looked like they wanted to fight?

...Perhaps he may have found one.

"...Oi. You. Fishface." Hothead said as he pointed at her.

"...Excuse me?" Undyne growled as she stood threateningly, her eyes glaring at the man. If looks could kill, that man would have keeled over and died. "Do you have the slightest clue in that burnt brain of yours who you're talking to?"

Hothead gave a grin. It looks like he had found his little fight that he was looking for. "As a matter of fact, that was what I was about to ask you... so please, do go on." he said as he stood there, his arms crossed and that grin on his face.

This only made Undyne even angrier, and Hothead knew it. He knew his seemingly arrogant attitude was egging Undyne more and more to start a fight, which was exactly what he was intending. "I am Undyne, head of the former Royal Guard, and a heroine to all of the Monsters in the Underground."

"Ooh... is that so?" Hothead questioned. "Good. That will make things even more fun for me." He then looked at Asgore and all the others. "...I have a better idea."

"Oh no..." Alphys said quietly under her breath. She knew that whatever was going to happen next, it wasn't going to be pretty at all.

"I say we have a battle to see which way we go." Hothead said as he pointed at Undyne and himself. "A one on one... you versus me, both of us allowed to use any assets we have in our fight, and none of our friends are able to come and help us... if you win the fight, we'll be more than willing to bugger off and let you do your thing... but if I win... you hand me that device, and we leave with you all empty handed... so, whether I win or lose, I'm going to leave anyway... it all just depends on whether or not I take anything with me."

"...A duel to see who gets what they want..." Undyne said and looked up in thought. She seemed to be seriously considering it.

"Undyne, you aren't seriously thinking about taking this challenge, are you?" Toriel questioned. "It could be a trap that he's luring you-"

"I never turn down a fight, Toriel." Undyne said. "Besides... I've been in desperate need of a fight for as long as I've come here to the surface... I need this just as much as he does."

Alphys gave a groan. She knows exactly what Hothead had done. He somehow was able to play right into Undyne's desperate need for a battle, and he was planning to take full advantage of that... but if they did fight... he wouldn't be able to defeat Undyne... would he?

"...Alright, bub." Undyne said as she took out a sword of hers. "...I accept your challenge... and you better expect no mercy... because I'm not going to be giving any whatsoever."

Hothead gave a nod. "Very well then... however, I don't think that we can fight in here... after all, there's so much expensive looking equipment around... I wouldn't want to cause any harm to it... why don't we take this fight outside?"

"U-Undyne..." Frisk started as she looked at the two. Undyne simply nodded, and the two began to walk out, followed by Illusionare and Neptune's Hound.

"Oh, this I gotta see." Papyrus said, quite confident that Undyne would be able to defeat Hothead, and ran out the door to follow them. All the other friends, knowing that they didn't have much choice, decided to go out there as well, except for Alphys, who stayed in there and began to panic as she worked on something quickly. She had an idea.

Undyne and Hothead stood outside, far enough away so that they wouldn't harm any property with their fight. Undyne stood there quietly, her sword in one hand and a spear in the other, while Hothead stood there almost too calmly and confidently, that smirk on his face and his arms crossed, as if he had absolutely nothing to worry about.

"...Undyne will actually be able to win... right?" Frisk said as she looked up at everybody. She stood beside Toriel and Asgore.

"What, are you kidding me?" Papyrus said as he looked at Frisk. "Frisk, Undyne is the leader of the Royal Guard. She's so determined that she could take down an entire army on her own... this Hothead freak doesn't stand a chance."

"...We're not at all aware of what Hothead is capable of." Asgore said as he watched the two mentally prepare for battle. "...Undyne is making a devastating mistake, going into a battle with this person when we know absolutely nothing about him or what he can do..."

"It's because Hothead had gotten her so angry." Toriel said as she looked at Undyne, who was hitting the ground with the butt of her spear. "She's so angry right now, she can't seem to really think about things like that..."

"...That's exactly what this guy must be going for." Sans said. "...I wouldn't be surprised if this guy pulls one of my 'Get Dunked On' miracles against Undyne."

"Huh?" Frisk questioned as she glanced over at Sans. "What do you mean by that?"

"...If you recall the battle I had with Chara not too long ago... the main reason Chara lost was because he was unaware of my abilities, and was not at all prepared for what I could really do, especially when he thought I was nothing but a lazy skeleton... the same thing is happening here... the man appears to be just a normal guy to all of us, and Undyne doesn't seem to realize that he could have some special abilities up his sleeve... he knew that Undyne wanted to pound a lesson into him, and he's going to try to take full advantage of that..." Sans said. "...The question is whether or not Undyne will see it before it's too late."

"...Are you gonna stand there and try to look pretty all day?" Undyne questioned as she took a spear in hand. "Come on! Make a move!"

"...If you insist." the man said with a smirk. He raised his left hand slightly, flipped it so that his palm was facing up, stuck his index finger up and began to wag it towards him, inviting Undyne to take a shot at him.

Undyne gave a growl and took the spear in hand, and threw it at the man, who stood perfectly still as the spear was coming for him. He gave a little sigh as it headed to pierce his head, and tilted his head towards his left shoulder, letting the spear completely breeze above his shoulder and fall to the ground with a clang. He wasn't in the slightest bit fazed.

"...Good shot." Hothead said. "...Now stop fooling around and take this seriously, would you?"

Undyne's eyes widened as she heard that and she growled fiercely. Oh, she was going to absolutely murder this punk, and see if there was a way she could revive him, just so she could have the pleasure of killing him over and over and over again. "You want more, huh? Fine then... I'll give you more!" She gave a yell and spears came out of nowhere, and she began to throw them quickly at Hothead.

"Oh? There we go." Hothead said as he was able to gracefully and yet swiftly dodge the spears that came for him. He side stepped, ducked, jumped up on a few occasions, letting all of the spears harmlessly miss him. He was bending down on his feet with one hand on the ground with his back turned as one more spear was heading towards him from behind. Undyne felt like the spear would be able to hit him.

On the last second, however, Hothead, suddenly threw himself on his back, letting the spear fly above him until it got within range of a kick, where he was able to thrust his right foot up in a kick so hard that it snapped the spear in two pieces, letting it fall to the floor.

Undyne was shocked by how fluently this person was able to dodge, as well as how easily he was able to neutralize one of her spears with just one kick. Hothead stood up and looked at Undyne. "...Seriously. Is this some kind of game to you?" Hothead questioned as he put his hands on his hips. "Come on! Stop playing around and take this seriously. I'm giving you the opportunity to attack me, and all you're doing is using these simple attacks?"

"Don't listen to him, Undyne!" Frisk called out. Neptune's Hound didn't like her trying to give advice during the one on one duel, and glared at Firks, giving a warning growl while Illusionare continued to silently watch, not making a single sound. Frisk, however, continued anyway. "Listen to me! He's just trying to make you angry! Don't listen to a word he says!"

Undyne, however, failed to hear Frisk. Her anger was boiling over and her desire to pound this guy into oblivion had reached unparalleled levels. Never in her entire life had she wanted to crush someone as bad as this guy. "Fine then... you want me to take this seriously?!" she shouted as she unscathed her sword. "I'll show you serious!" She gave a yell as she began to charge at Hothead with her sword, ready to cut him to pieces.

Undyne slashed and cut and sliced at Hothead with her great sword at every angle, but no matter how she tried to swing her sword, Hothead was very nimble on his feet, and was able to move out of the way of every single one of Undyne's attacks. She kept the barrage of sword swings fast and powerful, trying to get Hothead, but he kept dodging every attack.

"...She... she must have him on the ropes by now..." Papyrus said as he watched on, though it was clear he was starting to lose confidence in Undyne's chances of winning.

"Gah... freaking bonehead... she's letting him take her for a fool." Sans said as he watched on. Normally he'd make some kind of chuckle at the fact that he basically made a bone related pun, but this time, he was plain serious. "Look at Undyne. She's so angry, she can't even see three feet in front of her face... she's letting her rage blind her... and now I know it's only a matter of time before Hothead chooses to capitalize on that."

It seemed that time was now as Hothead got some distance between himself and Undyne with his back turned as Undyne was taking a second to catch her breath, getting ready to charge at Hothead again. While she was getting ready, Hothead gave a smirk and held his hand up to his own chest, and watched as it began to be surrounded by some kind of purple fluid that let out little purple bubbles. From this liquid, a purple ball showed up that levitated perfectly above Hothead's hand, changing in a matter of seconds from a ball of purple fluid into some kind of purple ball of energy.

He looked as Undyne yelled and began charging again. He gave a grin. She was so mad, she was making this too easy for him. Asgore's eyes widened as he caught sight of the purple ball that floated above Hothead's hand. "Undyne! Watch out!" he called to her, but it was too late. Once Hothead calculated that she was close enough, he turned around quickly and swung his hand down as if to throw something, and the purple ball of energy flew straight away from his hand, heading at Undyne, who was at point blank range for the shot.

Undyne saw the ball of energy far too late to be able to react, and was hit right in the stomach with the ball, stopping her in her tracks and dragging her back a few feet as the ball exploded in a small cloud of black and purple smoke. She gave a groan and looked at Hothead. The attack didn't hurt too much at the moment, so she held her sword up, ready to try again.

However, before she could, she began to feel something strange in her. Her legs began to slowly shake, as if they couldn't hold on to her anymore, and she was feeling her throat starting to hurt a bit. Her stomach was also feeling bad, and her heart just felt numb, as if she had suddenly gotten some kind of sickness. Within seconds, she fell to her knees, clutching her stomach and beginning to vomit out of control.

Papyrus gave a gasp as he watched Undyne throw up so much. He couldn't believe it. The attack didn't look like it should have done that much damage, but yet she seemed to be in real pain from it. Hothead gave a laugh and took some steps forward, approaching Undyne a bit. "Hahahahahahah... so tell me, Undyne. How did you like my Poison Ball attack? It's one of my four personal favorite attacks, gifted to me by my creator, Chara."

"Given by his creator Chara?!" Frisk said with a shocked gasp. "Oh no!"

"Now I see what's going on with this!" Asgore exclaimed. "Hothead isn't a person at all! He's a creation of Chara's, just like Neptune's Hound!"

"Oh? Did I perhaps forget to mention that?" Hothead said as he looked up. He gave a chuckle and smacked his forehead with his left hand. "Oh, I do apologize. I thought that when you correctly guessed I was a friend of Chara's, I thought that you knew I was a creation of his."

"You big cheat!" Toriel exclaimed. "You omitted that on purpose! You didn't want any of us to know that you had any special powers!"

"Perhaps I did, perhaps I simply assumed you knew that. Either way, it doesn't matter." Hothead said with a shrug. "I knew that you'd be more than reluctant to face a master of poison and fire, so I may have decided to omit that one detail. Not that you'd have any chance to win even if you did know that."

He looked back at Undyne, and his eyebrows raised in curiosity as Undyne had stopped throwing up and was slowly rising on her feet. "Well well well. What have we here?" he questioned. "Hmmm... perhaps I underestimated you a little bit. I didn't think that you would be able to stand up after being poisoned by my attacks."

"...You're... going to have to do better than a ball of poison to defeat me, you creep." Undyne said as she took her sword and held it in her hand. "...I underestimated you once, and that's not going to happen again... now that I know more of what you're capable of, I'll be able to react accordingly."

"Oh, is that so?" Hothead questioned. "...Good. Now that that's been settled, I can stop playing around and take this fight seriously... alright then... let's see what you think about this."

Hothead bent his knees a bit and balled his hands in a fist and began to yell. As he continued to shout, the hair on his head began to get brighter and hotter, and in a matter of seconds, it had begun to move like a fire... it was fire. Hothead's hair had literally turned into fire.

"Hahahahahaha! Oh yeah!" he shouted as his hair continued to glow a brighter orange, getting very hot as well as it glowed brighter the more Hothead seemingly powered up. "Been a long time since I powered up like this! Yes! The power!"

Undyne gave a growl and had her sword at the ready. She felt weaker from the poison that was inside her body from that Poison Ball attack, but she tried not to show it too much. She wasn't going to give up, she never did.

"Hmph... you don't have the strength to fight me... but for the same of your honor, I'll continue on the fight." Hothead said as he flattened his hand and held it in front of his face, showing Undyne as his entire hand came on fire, which didn't seem to bother Hothead in the slightest. "If you still insist on fighting, then how about I show you another one of my favorite techniques? This one's called my Flaming Chop attack!"

He began to rush forward with his hand still in that flat position and still on fire. He got right up to Undyne and swung his hand vertically down. Undyne was able to get her sword up and the hand and sword met. Somehow, the hand wasn't at all damaged from landing on the sharp sword, and merely got deflected. Hothead then swung to the right, aiming for Undyne's face, with her just barely being able to move her head back to dodge the attack.

After those two attacks, Undyne brought her sword to both hands and attempted to stab Hothead, only to have him move to the side, the sword only being able to cut a bit of his shirt. Before Undyne could make another move or before she could pull her sword back, Hothead grabbed her hands with his one non burning hand and hit her in the chest with his Flaming Chop attack. It was considerably stronger than his Poison Ball attack, and it sent Undyne back a few feet, tumbling to the ground with a burning pain on her chest from where Hothead had hit her.

She gave a groan and held on to her chest with it hurting very badly, not just from the powerful chop or the fire that went along with that chop, but also the poisoned that still lied in her veins. "You can't keep this up forever." Hothead said as he pointed to her chest. "The more you try to fight me and the more you attempt to move, the weaker you become from the poison. It won't be long now until you'll be immobilized."

Undyne gave a growl and stood up, her legs shaking. She had only been hit by two attacks, and she could already feel her body starting to give out on her. She would never give up, but she new that Hothead was right. The poison was inside her, and she couldn't keep fighting for much longer as the poison remained inside her. "I... I won't give up... not when my friends are depending on me to win this."

Hothead gave a sigh and shook his head. "I would think a leader of a royal guard would know when and when not to quit... but oh well... I suppose I couldn't expect a heroine to just fall on her knees and kneel before me." Hothead said as he held both of his hands to his sides, opened slightly as purple balls of poisonous liquid emerged, turning into those balls of purple, toxic energy. "...You ready?"

Undyne gave a growl and held her sword up slightly, beginning to charge at Hothead, who in turn, threw his two Poison Balls. The first one Undyne was able to destroy with her sword, swinging it vertically down as she approached it, letting it explode in the air without hitting her. The second one she was able to destroy as well by slashing it with her sword, but that one ended up closer to her and blew up in range where it could do some damage to Undyne. Nevertheless, she continued charging at Hothead.

"Yes, that's right. That's what it takes." Hothead said as he stood, ready to dodge some more of her attacks. As he was getting ready to dodge as Undyne approached, he suddenly gave a sharp scream as he felt something pierce him in his left shoulder. While he wasn't paying attention, Undyne had one of her spears on the ground come up and strike at Hothead, puncturing through his skin, but not getting deep enough to come out the other side, as Undyne had lost quite a bit of power.

He growled and looked back forward, only to see Undyne right there, swinging her sword at him. He was just barely able to move out of the way before he was cut in half, and even then, the sword had cut him in the belly, him starting to leak blood from both the slash in his belly and the puncture in his shoulder from the spear.

Undyne had wanted to do more, but after that one attack, she felt her legs get even more faint, and she had to stop, taking a knee and her head slightly facing down as she breathed hard. The poison was causing her too much pain. She couldn't keep going like this any longer.

Hothead stood up and looked at his hand as he saw the blood on his hand, watching the blood drip from his belly and stain his yellowish-green shirt. He gave a groan as he grabbed the spear from the back of his shoulder and painfully pulled it out. Luckily for him, it hadn't caused too much damage to make him unable to use his arm, but it still hurt to move it very much. "...Not bad." Hothead said. "I was thinking you weren't going to be getting a single attack on me at this rate... however, that's still not enough... and I can see the poison is still doing wonders to you... it'll only be a matter of time before you start choking on it."

Undyne gave a growl and forced herself up, stumbling and almost falling over. She had to keep going. She could never give up. Weakly, with her sword still in her hands, she began to make an attempt to run at Hothead, but only being to do so relatively slowly, her legs shaking and her vision starting to become blurry.

"Yes... that's it, keep going." Hothead said as he held his hands out to his sides, and let them start to zap with electricity. "Now, how about a little Thunderclap?" When he clapped his hands together once, a bolt of lighting shot out of them and at Undyne. She was too slow and too weak to dodge it, and the bolt of electricity hit her, sending her sprawling back onto the ground.

"Undyne!" Frisk yelled as she was about to run in to help her, but was immediately stopped by Neptune's Hound stepping towards her and giving a short roar and a growl, telling her to not interfere with the fight.

"Oh man..." Papyrus said. He couldn't believe it. Undyne had given it her all in that fight, and yet she wasn't strong enough to defeat Hothead.

Hothead walked forward, still bleeding, until he had his hand come on fire and touched the parts where he was bleeding, cauterizing his wounds. As soon as they stopped bleeding, he went right up to Undyne, who was on her hands and knees, in great pain and terribly weakened, but still trying to force her body up.

"...Wow. Have I really underestimated you, or what?" he questioned. "Even after being poisoned, struck by lightning and burnt by a chop, you're still trying to win." He gave a chuckle and put his foot right under Undyne's chin and raised her face up a little bit. "Who's a brave little monster? Who's a little survivor? That's right. You are."

He gave a hum and got his foot away from her chin and let a ball of purple energy appear in his left hand and a ball of fiery red energy appear in right. He brought both of his hands together and held them a bit behind them. "...Let's fix that, shall we?"

"No!" Papyrus shouted as he started running in there, only to be stopped by Sans as he grabbed him, just before Neptune's Hound could get a chance to jump at Papyrus if he had gotten too close. "Don't you dare hurt her! Undyne!"

"Keep it together, Papyrus!" Sans said as he watched on as Hothead continued to stand there, Undyne still struggling to rise. "Come on Undyne... get up..."

"You've been an excellent sport in this game, ma'am... but I'm afraid this is where it ends." Hothead said. "One attack like this, and you're gone for." Undyne gave a growl and tried to force her body up yet to no avail. She had taken too much damage from Hothead's attacks, and the poison had weakened her out too greatly.

"W-wait!" came Alphy's voice as she came running out with a device in her hand. When Hothead heard the voice, he stopped and glanced over at Alphys, and so did Undyne. Alphys was stopped by Neptune's Hound stepping in front of her, but still stood there, holding the device up in her hand. "Wait! I h-have the device! Y-you can take it!... Just don't hurt Undyne!"

"A... Alphys..." Undyne said as she tried to stay on her hands and knees, looking at Alphys. Neptune's Hound looked ready to attack.

"Neptune's Hound... let her come." Hothead said as his hair began to slowly stop moving and burning, and reverted back from the fire to that orange fire shaped hair. Neptune's Hound looked at Hothead as he continued talking. "...She could have saved her a lot of pain if she had just given that to us earlier... but hey. Like they always say, better late than never, right?"

As Neptune's Hound looked at Hothead, Alphys was able to quietly get a scale off of the beast's tail without it noticing, and put it in her other hand. After a few more seconds, Alphys came over and gave Hothead the device. "Here... take it... just please... don't h-hurt her anymore."

"...Very well then." Hothead said with a chuckle and an agreeing nod. "...The truth is that she's just way too fun to finish now, so I'd want to battle her again some time... so this works out twice as well for me."

"A... Al... phys..." Undyne said in a weak whisper. She had given up that device she was working so hard on just to save her.

Hothead gave a gesture to Neptune's Hound and Illusionare, and the two gave an understanding nod as they began to walk away. "...Feel free to drop on by and have a rematch anytime you like... that is, if you can even find out where we are." Hothead said with a laugh as he turned around and began to follow Illusionare and Neptune's Hound, leaving Undyne on her hands and knees, weakened, but alive.


	11. Truth Be Told

Chapter 11

Truth Be Told

Toriel came out of the room that Undyne was resting in. She looked at Frisk and all of her friends as they all silently stood and waited for a report, aside from Alphys, who was back at working on something. "...Well?" Frisk questioned. "...Is Undyne... gonna be alright?"

Toriel gave a little smile and a nod. "Don't worry about it. Undyne will be fine, my child." she said. "Whatever poison that was inside her body is too weak at this point to do any real damage, and that Golden Flower Tea is really doing wonders... the way I see it, with a girl as determined as her... she'll only need an hour or two before she's ready to go again."

They all gave a sigh of relief when they heard that. "Knowing Undyne though, it'll only take half an hour before she's ready to get up." Papyrus said with a chuckle. "After all, as the Captain of the Royal Guard, there's no doubt that she would have faced much worse than a bit of poison in her time."

"...Hey, Alphys. Did you hear that? Undyne's going to be ok." Asgore said.

"Y-yes, Mr. Dreemur. I-I heard her." Alphys said as she continued to work on whatever it was she was doing. After what had just happened with Undyne, she was filled with a sense of determination to extract some vengeance. Now she wanted to make Chara pay, not just for hurting Frisk, Asgore, Sans and Papyrus, but when he hurt Undyne by sending that creature of his, he crossed the line with her. She wasn't going to stand him hurting anyone again.

Sans gave a sigh. "...So now what do we do?" he questioned. "...Not only do we have to wait for Undyne to heal, but now we just lost the device that was being created to track down Chara."

"...We'll just have to find another way." Asgore said with a sigh as he looked to the room where Undyne rested. "...Things may be looking down here... but we'll be able to manage."

Papyrus gave a nod and looked at Sans. Sans looked back at his brother and gave a nod. The two of them were going to get the chance to beat this Chara, no matter how difficult it gets and no matter how many trials they had to get through. They wouldn't let this stand. Everyone had let themselves and their friends down way too many times and in too many different ways to ever allow any room for mistakes for either of them.

Frisk gave a sigh and sat down. She looked at her hands as she remembered the dream that she had last night, which she still hadn't told anybody about. She knew that they wouldn't allow her to accept Chara's deal, whether or not she told them about it... but her friends kept getting hurt left and right. Chara wasn't after any of them... he was after her... she was the only one that Chara wanted, so why should she have to force her friends to suffer along with her?

"...Are you ok, child?" Toriel questioned as she sat down with Frisk. Frisk didn't say anything and remained quiet as she looked down, in thought.

"...Hmmm..." Toriel looked up in thought. She began to try to strike up a conversation, to see if she could cheer Frisk up. "...You know, it's really amazing what a cup of Golden Flower Tea can do in terms of healing." she said with a hum. "I don't know if you've ever tried it yet... but... just like a number of foods in the Underground, that Golden Flower Tea can really do wonders when it comes to healing somebody that had taken damage... heck, if we could get the human food and drink to do things like that, I'm sure that they would have no need for hospitals, or-"

"Mom..." Frisk said slowly as she looked up at her. "...I... I need to tell you something."

Toriel stopped and looked at Frisk. "...What's wrong, child?" Toriel questioned.

"...I..." Frisk gave a sigh and shook her head. "...I lied when I said I didn't remember anything from my dream, aside from just seeing Chara and being on top of Mount Ebott... I... I didn't want to tell you because... I didn't want you and all the others to worry about it... we all have so much to worry about as it is... I didn't want to-"

"Frisk... if something is really bothering you, I wouldn't want you to lie to me about it and tell me what it is." Toriel said as she put her hand on her shoulder. "I know everything seems stressful for us now, but believe me, hiding the truth isn't going to be making things any better for us... we're all in this together with every situation... including this one, and whatever's bothering you about your dream."

Frisk gave a nod and a sigh. "...I understand... Mom..." she said as she looked at all the others. Sans and Papyrus were seeming to be talking about their own thing, whatever that could be, and Asgore was just standing there, quietly thinking to himself. Perhaps overhearing the conversation she was having with Toriel... but at the minute, she wasn't sure if that was the case or not.

"...Now... since you're in a little more of a truthful mood... let's try this again, shall we?" Toriel said. "...You had a dream last night... tell me... what exactly happened in that dream?"

"...Well..." Frisk started as she sighed. She knew she had to tell them, even though she thought it might have been better if they didn't know. "...Well... it started with me waking up exactly where I had fallen asleep... only... I was the only one there... you, Papyrus, Sans, Undyne, Alphys and Asgore... neither of you were anywhere to be seen... I was alone, so I got up to start looking for you... and eventually I came to the foot of Mount Ebott..."

"...And you talked about seeing Chara at the peak of the mountain." Toriel remembered. "...So you started to climb up the mountain, correct?"

"...I didn't really want to at first." Frisk said. "...I knew that more than likely, you and the others wouldn't have been on the top of there if I looked, but... there was something that was drawing me into climbing the mountain... I can't describe it... it was... this burning feeling in my chest that I couldn't get rid of... so I decided to climb the mountain... and I ended up at the top... looking down at the hole the Underground, where I had fallen down in the first place.

"...I had stood up there for quite some time... I think I was thinking about going down there for some reason... but I was stopped by Chara saying something... I turned and I saw him standing up there with me... he was wearing a red and blacked striped tuxedo and a black business hat."

"The same tuxedo that you saw in the shop..." Toriel said with a nod. "...And did you and Chara talk about anything while you were both up there?"

"Well... yes... we did... he didn't try to take my soul or kill me or anything... he just sat down and he started talking... one of the things that he had mentioned... was... that he and I weren't really too different... I didn't understand what he meant... how was I anything like him, aside from both of us having fallen into the Underground at some point in our lives?... I asked him what exactly made him think that were true, after he made some comment about the hat messing up his hair."

"...And what exactly did he say in response?" Toriel questioned.

"...He thought that I was talking about what he meant by the hat messing up his hair at first... so first he told me that it was because his hair was fixed and combed before he put it on, but when he took the hat off, his hair stood up a little bit."

"..." Toriel held back a little chuckle. Chara was pretty prone to do things like that when he was still with her, Asgore and Asriel. "...Alright, then what did he say?"

"Well... after I had made it clear what I was referring to... he began to talk about how he and I both have our determination to get things done... how neither of us were willing to give up when we set our minds to something..." She gave a shudder as she remembered the last part. "...He... he said that... we both went up to the mountain and fell into the Underground for the exact same reason."

Toriel looked at her curiously. "...He did?" she questioned. Perhaps this was a moment where she could actually find something out about Chara that she had never gotten the chance to learn. "And what else did he say? Did he tell you why he went up there in the first place?"

"Well... no... he never did." Frisk said. "...He just left it that we went there for the same reason after I had denied that... but..." She looked at Toriel. "...You... don't know why he went up there?"

Toriel gave a sigh and a shake of her head as she began to explain something to Frisk. "Believe me, child... I had tried to find that out from Chara for quite some time before he died..." she said. "...Time and time again, I had asked him why exactly he had gone up on that mountain in the first place... and every time I asked him that question, he never really gave me an answer... he either told me that it didn't matter to him anymore, or that it wasn't worth talking about at all... he never gave me a straight up answer..."

Frisk gave a nod and looked down. She was really hoping that Toriel didn't ask her why she had went up to the mountain in the first place... she wasn't ready to answer that question, at least not yet.

"...Well... after a little while... he... he made an offer to me." Frisk said.

"...An offer?... What kind of offer are we talking about?" Toriel questioned.

"...Well... it's... that if I go to wherever he is... peacefully and alone... and cooperate with whatever he would do to me... that he wouldn't hurt any of you anymore... that all of you wouldn't be harmed in the process of whatever he would plan to do." Frisk said with a sigh.

"...You're not considering the offer, are you?" Toriel questioned as she looked at Frisk a bit sternly.

"...Well... at first I wasn't... at first I thought it was a ridiculous offer, that I would never take it... but... with everything that's been happening so far... Asgore being attacked by that Neptune's Hound... Chara almost killing Papyrus and Sans... and now... what happened to Undyne..."

"Well, technically since Undyne was really harmed not too long ago... I don't think that's a valid deal anymore." Toriel said with a sigh. "...Even if it was, we wouldn't allow you to take it, and you know that Frisk."

"I know... but... I just don't want anybody being hurt for my sake anymore... Chara is after me... he's causing this damage to all of us because of me... this is my battle..."

"Frisk... this is everyone's battle, whether you believe it or not." Toriel said. "...I don't know what my son would plan to do if he got his hands on your soul... but I know for a fact that it would be nothing good... not just for you... but for everybody on this earth, monsters and humans alike... if you take this offer, he'll do a lot more than just take your soul... you have to understand that..."

Frisk remained quiet but gave a little nod. She knew in all honesty that Toriel was right. Chara wanted to destroy all of humanity, she knew that much from her 'conversations' with him... if he got what he wanted, and she gave up and gave him her soul... then she would not only be killing herself, but there's a good chance she would take everyone else down with her.

"Listen... child... I know I've said this a hundred times before... but I'd say it a hundred times again if it means you getting the message." Toriel said. "We're all here for you. No matter what happens, no matter what we have to go through, we're not going to give up on you... we know that you would never give up on us... despite the fact that a number of us tried to kill and/or capture you at some point... and we're not about to back down either."

"...Thanks Mom." Frisk said with a smile as she hugged Toriel, who hugged her close and rubbed her back encouragingly. She was there for her; all of them were.

"...But what do we do now?" Frisk questioned as she looked up at Toriel. "...We don't have any way to track down Chara now... not after that creature took away that device..."

"Oh... is that what you think?" Alphys said as she gave one little last adjustment to whatever she was working on and turned around, holding the device in her hand. "Haha! Here it is! It's finally complete."

"What is that, Alphys?" Asgore questioned.

Alphys gave a little chuckle. "This is the device that's going to track down Neptune's Hound, of course." she said as she showed them a scale she had snatched from it while it was busy listening to Hothead. "I was able to snatch a scale from the creature while it wasn't paying attention to me... so now that I have the sample of the DNA, I can use this device to track down any traces of where Neptune's Hound went." Alphys didn't seem to be very nervous or stuttering much at the moment. It seemed like she almost had a revival of confidence all of a sudden.

"The device?" Papyrus questioned as he perked up when he heard that. "W-wait a minute... I thought you gave that device to Hothead in order to save Undyne's life."

"Heheheheh... yeah, I'm sure that's what he thinks too... I do hope Chara doesn't get too disappointed when they find out." Alphys said as she held the device up. "You see, while the fight was going on between Undyne and Hothead, I was busy in here, making a replica of the device that looks exactly like it. I thought that just in case something were to go wrong, I would have the fake device to use as a scapegoat."

"That creature took a fake device?" Sans said before chuckling. "Wow... and I was thinking that Undyne was being a bit bone-headed in that fight... and by now, that creature's probably at Chara's place, proudly giving him a fake device."

Asgore gave a proud chuckle. "Tricking the enemy and saving our friend." he said as he went over and patted Alphys on the shoulder. "I would expect nothing less from you, Alphys. You've done great."

The feeling of Asgore's hand on her chest caused Alphys to get a little bit nervous again. "Oh... i-it wasn't anything too major... I just did something anyone could think of." she said with her rubbing the back of her head.

"Well, it definitely helped." Toriel said with a hum and a smile. "...So now, I guess we just wait for Undyne to get better, and we can get back to our search."

Frisk gave a sigh of relief. Just when she thought the situation was at its peak of bleak, Alphys is able to keep everything from going wrong. Perhaps they might still have a chance to stop Chara after all.

* * *

"Chara?" came Asriel's voice from inside his room as Chara was sitting on his bed, still thinking to himself. "Could you come in here for a minute? I need your help."

Chara opened his eyes and hesitated to get up for a second. He had been sitting there motionless for the past... "How long have I been doing this?" he muttered to himself as he looked at his alarm clock. It said that it was 1:36 PM, so he had been sitting there doing nothing for at least an hour or so.

"...Huh..." he said to himself before calling to Asriel. "Alright, bro. Give me a second." he said as he gave a stretch of his legs and arms as he stood up.

He went to Asriel's room and saw Asriel sitting on the bed, cuddled up in his blanket. He looked around the place, but didn't see what exactly the problem was. "What's wrong, Asriel?" he questioned as he went over to the bed.

"Chara... there's..." Asriel pointed to the wall. "There's a spider in the room."

"...A spider." Chara said in disbelief as he looked at the wall where Asriel was pointing. Sure enough, there was a spider there. It wasn't a very big spider at all. It was a little black spider just chilling on the wall. "...Are you serious right now? You called me over... because of this little thing?"

"W-well... it's... in the room... and... I... I don't know what to do with it, Chara." Asriel said as he looked at the spider.

"...You don't know what to do with a spider... if it's in your room..." Chara gave a sigh and a shake of his head. "...Alright, fine. Hold on a second." He went over to the spider on the wall and took is shoe off, ready to kill the spider.

"Woah, woah!" Asriel said as he watched what Chara was doing. "What are you doing, Chara?"

"What does it look like I'm doing? If there's a spider in your room, and you don't want it in there, you crush the little bastard."

"Crush it? Chara, you can't crush the spider!"

"Yes I can. It's easy. I just smack where it is with my shoe, and boom! The thing is crushed."

"Alright, but what I mean is you shouldn't crush it."

"Why not?"

"Because that would kill it!"

"I know, Asriel. That's the whole point. If a spider is in your room, you take your shoe, you crush the spider, and you kill it. Plain and simple."

"But... I don't want to kill it, and I don't want you to kill it either." Asriel said as he looked at the spider. "It's... it's just a little spider... I don't want it in here, but I don't want to kill it... doesn't it have the right to live, just like you and I do?"

"'The right to live'? Asriel, what kind of PETA bullcrap is in your head?" Chara questioned as he looked at the spider. "It's just a freaking spider. It's not like they have feelings, or anything along those lines."

Asriel looked at the spider again. "But... that's not what Miss Muffet would say."

Chara then repeated exactly what Asriel said in an obnoxious mocking voice, like a little kid. "'That's not what Miss Muffet would say'." he said before looking at Asriel. "What do I care what Miss Muffet would say? Who the heck is Miss Muffet anyway?"

"Oh, she's a spider lady that used to be in the Underground." Asriel said.

"..." Chara gave a sigh and facepalmed with a shake of his head. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Here he was, telling Asriel that it was just a stupid spider, and it doesn't have any emotions, so it was perfectly fine to kill it, and Asriel is telling him that he would rather believe the advice that a crazy spider woman told him rather than listen to his own brother.

"...Asriel, come here." Chara said. Asriel hesitantly got up and went over to where Chara is. "...You see this spider on the wall, yes?"

"Y... yes?..."

"The spider is scaring you... you don't want it in your room... this is your room, and not the spider's, correct?

"Well... yes..."

"And you don't want this little spider in your room, correct?"

"R-right. That's why I called you over to help."

"Alright... then get rid of the spider." Chara said as he pointed at the spider. "Show it that it has absolutely no business coming into your room without your say so. Teach the little creep a lesson it will never forget."

Asriel looked at Chara and back to the spider. He knew what Chara wanted Asriel to do, but he couldn't hurt the little thing. Sure, he didn't want it in his room, but he didn't want to kill the little thing either. Chara was telling him that the spider didn't have any feelings like the two of them did, but he remembered Miss Muffet and how deeply she and her spiders cared for each other.

He gave a little sigh and put his hand gently on the wall by the spider. "Hello there... Mr. Spider." Asriel said in a gentle and friendly voice. "Uh... I would... appreciate it if you could please leave my room..."

Chara stared wide-eyed for a minute before smacking his own forehead with the palm of his left hand. "Oh my God..." he muttered quietly. "Asriel, I love you, but you can be such a big baby sometimes."

There was a knock on the door that Chara heard. "...Alright, you know what? Go ahead. See what good talking to the spider like it can actually understand a word you say will do... I'm going to go to the door and see who is here." he said as he left Asriel's room.

He went to the door and opened it, being met by the grinning face of Hothead, his latest creation. "Hey there." Hothead said with a chuckle. "Didn't expect me to be back so soon, huh?"

Chara wasn't very worried about the timing of Hothead's arrival. Instead, what he was more interested in was the fact that Hothead had a cut wound in his stomach that appeared to have been burnt shut, and his green shirt had blood stains on it. "...Not at all." Chara said before opening the door wider. "Alright, get in here."

Hothead gave a nod and walked in. He was followed by Neptune's Hound and Illusionare, Neptune's Hound having to kind of move around and try to slither his way into the door, due to his size being considerably larger than many of the other lifeforms that enter the room. Illusionare remained eerily quiet. Unlike Hothead, Illusionare never really talked at all unless it was something absolutely important, and even then, all it did was whisper into the ear of Chara, or somebody else if absolutely necessary.

Chara closed the door behind them and looked at Hothead. Neptune's Hound, as soon as it forced itself in, began walking to get some water for itself. It was an aquatic creature that seemed to be forced to walk on the land quite a lot. Illusionare simply went up next to Hothead and remained there silently.

"...If you're here on such short notice, I take it that your mission was successful." Chara said as he sat down on the couch.

"What? You think I would let you down?" Hothead questioned as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a remote control looking device. "Here it is, Chara. Just as I promised you, one device built to track us down, finally in your grasp."

Chara gave a nod. "Good work... and I see you had to have taken drastic measures to get your hands on this." he said as he stared at the blood stains on Hothead's shirt.

Hothead gave a shrug. "Well, I challenged Undyne to a fight and defeated her. In the end, Alphys gave me the device herself to keep me from harming Undyne any further."

"...You fought Undyne and won..." Chara said. Something about how he said that made it clear to Hothead that Chara didn't like hearing that. "...And just how much damage did you do to her?"

"Quite a bit." Hothead said, not knowing why Chara seemed upset with that. "Uh... I got some poison inside her body... unless Frisk and her friends are able to treat it very quickly, I can say that she'll be hurt for quite a while... why do you ask?"

"...Hothead, you are a fool." Chara said as he pounded his fist on the table, generating a banging sound. "I told you not to hurt anybody when you were getting this device. Did I not make that clear? I'm trying to make a deal with Frisk... how am I supposed to get her to accept a deal of coming over in exchange for me not hurting her friends, when you go on and severely hurt one of her friends?"

Hothead remained quiet and looked down a bit. "...I... may have let that one detail of the mission slip out in the excitement of the fight." he said.

"...Whatever... just give me the device." Chara said. Hothead, not wanting to upset Chara further, walked up to the couch and gave him the device that Alphys had given him. The second that Chara took the device, however, he gave a confused frown and looked down at it.

"...Something wrong, sir?" Hothead questioned.

"...This device... it feels... really light." Chara said as he inspected the device further. It looked real to him, but it barely had any weight to it... it felt as if he could shatter it with just a tighten of his grip alone. "...Something's not right here." He turned the device around and clicked the button that would turn it on.

When he did, however, it didn't turn on. The screen that was on it remained completely black, making Chara get a little more irritated, and making Hothead more nervous. Even though he was bigger than Chara, considering Chara was in the form of himself at around Asriel's age, he was still very nervous about his creator getting angry. Looking up at Hothead irritatedly, he glanced back and continued to press the button rapidly, nothing happening.

Chara then inspected the 'device' one more time and gave it a shake. He could hear something hit around in it, but other than that, it sounded completely hallow. "...Hothead... you said that Dr. Alphys gave you this... correct?"

"Uh... yes... she did." Hothead said. "Wh... why do you ask?"

"...And... did you, by any chance... happen to see her grab the device and where she brought it from?"

"N... no sir... she... she was in the lab while Undyne and I were fighting outside..."

"...Is that so?" Chara questioned as he gave the thing in his hand one more shake. "...And... once she gave you the device... when you felt how light it was in your hand... did you... by any chance... happen to think about double checking to make sure that she gave you the correct object?"

Hothead gave a shudder and looked down as he realized that he didn't. He realized far too late that he had been tricked. With a sigh, Chara threw the device towards the floor and shaped his hand into a finger gun, and with the power of the Human Soul of Justice, fired a blast out of his finger that hit the object, breaking it in half, showing it to be completely hollow, save for a rolled up piece of paper.

"It's a replica!" Chara exclaimed as he watched the pieces of the replica device fall to the floor. "Hothead, you braindead creation of mine!" He went over and grabbed the piece of paper, unrolling it and reading what was written on it.

 _Sorry Chara, but I'm not going to let you have this device of mine. I hope you'll be alright with something that looks like it._

 _Signed, Dr. Alphys._

"...You messed up every single aspect of this mission!" Chara said as he crumbled the note and threw it at Hothead, who caught it and held it in his hand. "Not only do you severely wound one of Frisk's friends, something I specifically told you not to do, but you also let them deceive you so easily!"

"I... I'm sorry, Chara." Hothead said as he looked down. "I... I'll go back and I'll get the real device! I'll go right now and-"

"No." Chara interrupted as he walked to the wall, crossed his arms and looked down. "...It's clear that I can't trust any of you creations of mine to do such a simple task... so now, I'll just have to go along with Darkeol's proposed plan, and wait for them to come find me."

He looked at Hothead and said, "...They'll find their way here sooner or later... and when they do... I want you to be ready for them... I want absolutely no mistakes at that moment." He gave a shake of his head and began to walk back to Asriel's room, to see if he had killed the spider yet or not.

"..." Hothead looked at the crumbled up paper in his hands and let it come on fire as his hands did with his anger. Just when he thought he had won, he finds out that he had been tricked... "...Just you all wait..." Hothead growled as he balled up his hand and crushed whatever of the paper wasn't burnt into ashes. "...I'll get back at you soon enough."


	12. Preparations

Chapter 12

Preparations

"...Ugh... my head..." Undyne said as she slowly began to sit up from the bed. She had just woken up from a nap she had taken, and aside from a bit of a headache, she could say that she was feeling a lot better than she was after the fight had gone down.

"Ah... so you're finally awake." Sans said calmly as he looked over at her. "So, how was your little nap on the job, hm?"

"Oh, you're one to talk about napping on the job..." Undyne grumbled as she got up from the bed and stretched her body. "Ugh... where are the others? Are they still here?"

"Yeah, they're outside, waiting for you to wake up." Sans said with a hum and leaned on the wall. "You know, I can't help but envy you a little bit. Usually when I decide to just snooze for an hour or so, I usually get woken up by someone because we have something busy to do... but heck, here you are taking an hour's nap, and everybody just waits for you to wake up."

"Oh, is that so?" Undyne questioned with a little chuckle. "Then perhaps I should beat the crap out of you sometimes, Sans. That way, they wouldn't disturb you from your nap either."

Sans gave a chuckle. "Nah, I think I'm gonna pass on that offer." Sans said. "I don't feel like getting into a fight right now... too tired from... things."

"Of course." Undyne said with a sigh as she began to walk out. She didn't want to keep them waiting. She was followed by Sans, who quietly and lazily strolled behind her, as if he didn't have a problem in the world.

When she opened the door, she was immediately greeted by everybody standing out there, waiting for her. "Undyne!" Papyrus said as he bolted to her faster than anything Undyne had ever seen before and hugged her, almost tackling her to the ground.

"Woah. Hey there, Papyrus." Undyne said as she hugged him back a bit awkwardly, patting his back. "Well... you're really a sight for sore eyes."

"I could say the same about you." Alphys said as she walked over to her. "We... were really scared about you, Undyne... we thought we might have actually been losing you at one point..."

Undyne gave a sigh and looked down a bit before nodded. "...Yes... I felt like I was close to that point." she said as she looked at everyone. "...I caused all of you to worry so much... and... I... I'm sorry, about that..."

"Come now, Undyne." Asgore said as he went to her and put his hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "It's not your fault. These things happen to all of us from time to-"

"No... it is my fault... it... it's because... I let him get into my head." Undyne said. "...Ever since we had left the Underground... ever since we started our new lives up here... I had been so eager to get myself back into some kind of action... I... I really do enjoy all my moments I spend here with Alphys... but... I also began to miss for the days where I was a hero... back in the days where everybody looked up to me... the days where I would fight to protect every innocent soul in the Underground, and punish all those that would dare hurt my friends..."

"...Hothead preyed on your weak spot when it was most vulnerable." Toriel said as she looked down. "...He made the feeling burn inside you to the point where you couldn't control it..."

"But that's just it... I SHOULD have been able to control it just fine, no matter what." Undyne said as she sat down. "I mean... for the sake of whatever God may be up there... I am the former Captain of the Royal Guard... I was looked up to by everybody to be a strong and just leader... to be able to know when and when not do certain things... and all because of the desire to get into a fight... for the sake of feeling that excitement again... I became weak... I let Hothead take full control of me... and I couldn't see that until it was too late..."

"...It's not your fault, Undyne." Frisk said. "...Trust me, I know it just as well as everybody else... Chara and all of his creatures are manipulative and, at least in the case of Chara, cunning... he's been trying to manipulate me as well... he knows what we want and how bad we want it... and he's able to use it against us."

"...But I let him do it." Undyne said. "...No matter what Chara is capable of... it still doesn't change the fact that I'm the one that couldn't rise past it... I fought my best out there today, but for all the wrong reasons, and I let all of you down because of that... and for that... I'm truly, truly sorry..." She looked down silently, almost as if she were too ashamed to look at her friends.

"...You know, if it makes you feel any better, I once had an opportunity to kill Chara, but I let it slide." Sans reminded Undyne in an attempt to make her feel better. "He just laid there on the floor, missing three of his limbs and half of his face, and-"

"Sans!" Papyrus whispered to him as he elbowed Sans's arm firmly. "That's not helping right now!"

"I was only saying." Sans whispered as he rubbed the arm that Papyrus had elbowed. "I'm just trying to help cheer her up."

"I think what Sans is trying to say is that we all make mistakes, Undyne." Asgore said as he walked in front of her and put his hand gently on her chin and had her look up at him. "...We all make poor decisions that we shouldn't have... it's just a part of being who we are... we all wish we could have done better when we made them... and that's what mistakes are here for... to learn from them, and do better the next time."

"...I know, Asgore..." she said as she looked at him. "...It's just... I didn't just lose that battle... I also costed us our one chance of finding out where Chara is hiding... Alphys gave it up to save me... I... I just feel like I've costed us so much..."

"I would be willing to give up a lot more than just the device if it meant being able to help you out, Undyne." Alphys said as she went up to her and gently took her hand to comfort her. "...You AND all of our friends are much more important to me than any device..." She pointed at all the devices in the lab and went on. "All these things that I've worked very hard to build, and all these collections of comics and animes... all those things can be replaced, or I could move on from them if they were to one day wind up gone... but you, and all of our other friends... you all are irreplaceable... you all mean much more to me than anything else."

"Oh... Alphys." Undyne said as she gently took Alphys into a hug.

"...Oh... and also, for the record, Undyne..." Alphys started as she reached into her coat pocket. She fished around there for a second before holding up the device that Undyne had seen her working on just before Hothead showed up. "...You didn't cost us anything."

"The... the device?" Undyne took the device in her hand and looked on it. The screen seemed to have coordinates set in for a destination. "But... I thought that you-"

"That I had given this to Hothead to make him stop attacking? On the contrary, that one was just a decoy, Undyne." Alphys said. "...I had a bad feeling that something was going to go wrong had the battle gone on, so I decided to take a precaution and make a fake one, just in case... uh... n-not that I w-wasn't confident that you couldn't beat him, or didn't have any faith in you... but... you know... as the Royal Scientist, you can never be too careful."

Undyne just continued to stare at Alphys. "I, uh... also got a scale from Neptune's Hound at one point when he wasn't looking... so we have the device all set up so that when we're ready to go, we can get back on our search any time we wish." Alphys said with a chuckle and a rub of the back of her head. "I, uh... I hope that you didn't get worried too much about that whole issue."

"Ohh... I should have known you'd find a way to outsmart them all." Undyne said with a grin as she looked down with a little bit of a blush.

"U-Undyne?... Uh... wh-why are you blushing?" Alphys questioned, blushing a little bit herself from the sight of Undyne's cheeks turning a bit red. "Uh... did I say something, or..."

"No, no... it's just..." Undyne gave a sigh. "...It's nothing, Alphys." she said with a hum and patted her back as they separated from the hug.

Frisk looked at Alphys confused and went over to her. She then whispered in her ear about how they had rehearsed a moment like this in their roleplay where Frisk helped Alphys brave up to tell Undyne the truth. Alphys only gave a little shudder and a blush at that. "Come on... just like we rehearsed it... that was your moment to kiss her."

"You didn't take that roleplay seriously at all, and we both know that." Alphys whispered to her. "You had her kiss me right away in that roleplay, and that's not what she would do at a moment like this."

Undyne overheard what the two were whispering about and gave a little shudder. She remembered that awkward moment she went to the dumpster when hearing Alphys shouting something about her and saw her on a 'date' with Frisk. She was glad that Frisk was able to help Alphys brave up and tell the truth... but that was the weirdest moment that she could recall being a part of.

"Uh... Alphys." Sans said as he leaned against the wall and took a bone out of his pocket, placing it at the tip of his index finger and balancing it standing up, moving his index finger whenever the weight of the bone shifted, to see how long he could balance it. "I don't mean to interrupt you and Frisk's conversation, but... I believe we're all ready to figure out where to go from now."

"Uh... yes, of course." Alphys said as she took out the device and went over and got a laptop, bringing it over. "Ok... well, I have the device set up to track the DNA of Neptune's Hound... the only thing is, the device is only able to show us any tracks from a mile radius... give or take a few hundred feet... and, a-as we may have all figured... Neptune's H-Hound seems to have gone q-quite a ways farther than that... so..."

"...So until we actually get real close to where we're going, we don't have a clue on where exactly we're going." Asgore said with a sigh and scratched his beard.

"Well... this was the best I could d-do with the short amount of time that I had, Asgore. I know that i-it may not be as effective as we would hope, but..."

"N-no, I'm not saying that at all." Asgore said. "I know you did all you could to build at... nobody else would be able to make a device that could help us like that."

"Yeah... well, as I was calibrating the device... I... thought of an... i-issue that may happen with this device..."

"What do you mean issue?" Papyrus questioned. "Is there something wrong with the device, or..."

"Well... n-not really, but..." Alphys gave a sigh and looked at them. "Th-this device is designed so that it would track any path from the... DNA of Neptune's Hound... but... there's n-no guarantee that Neptune's Hound w-went only one path the whole time... i-if Neptune's Hound went any other w-way at any time, aside from to Chara's place... this device will p-pick that up as well... and i-if that were to happen... w-we'd have two paths shown on here... wh-which would mean..."

"Which would mean that unless we choose a path and see where it leads, we won't know which one leads to Chara, and which moves us somewhere else." Toriel said with a sigh.

"Y-yes... that's right... i-if I were given about a couple days or so, I would b-be able to greatly improve the range to have a b-better idea of what place w-we may be looking for... but I know we probably don't have much more time." Alphys said as she looked down at the device.

"...Well... I don't think we can wait too much longer." Undyne said as she looked at all the rest. "...I think the best thing we should do is resume the hunt for that brat."

"...I agree with Undyne." Asgore said as he stood up. "Every other second we delay our search is another second we're giving for Chara to harm something... we have to find my son... not just to save ourselves or everyone else... but to save him as well."

"Meh. Personally I don't think saving him is gonna be an option at this point." Sans said in a little sarcastic tone, to which Asgore and Toriel both gave a look that showed they were both unappreciative of the sarcastic remark he just made.

"...Oh, alright." Sans said with a sigh. "I honestly don't think there's much hope left for that kid... but I suppose there's no harm in giving it the old college try, huh?" He gave a sigh and a shrug. "Oh well. I suppose I have a bone to pick with that kid anyway."

"And no matter what happens in the end of our adventure, we cannot allow for the boy to keep going and hurt anybody." Papyrus said as he stood up tall and proud. "I, the Great Papyrus, will not stop this search and adventure until we stop this demon child."

"Alright then... so then, I guess we can just start when everybody is ready." Alphys said as she got the device in her lab coat pocket. "...In the meantime, I suggest that you all do whatever you may have to do before we go. Because once we leave, th-there's a good chance we won't be coming back for quite some time."

Frisk hummed and looked at her hand. She was really wondering whether or not Sans was right. Was Chara actually able to be saved, or was there truly no hope for him? Would he be the first ever that she would actually have to destroy if absolutely necessary, or would he give her and her friends to spare her... she didn't know at the moment.

" _...I was able to save Asriel... despite what he thought, I was able to save him from himself... but... what if I can't do the same with Chara?_ " she thought to herself and looked at her hands. " _He... he seems like absolutely nothing I've faced before... even darker and more sinister than Asriel as a flower... and Asriel actually had some feelings when he had all the Human Souls and the souls of all the Monsters in him... but... does Chara have the same..._ "

She shook her head as she was stopping herself from thinking that there was no hope. " _No... I won't believe it... anybody, even the worst of people, can be good people if they just try... Chara is no different... I know he can change... I just don't know how to help him..._ " She supposed that the only way that she would only be able to find out once they get going.

"Hey, Alphys... do you think you could point me to the direction of the restroom?" Frisk questioned. "I want to use the bathroom before we get going, you know?"

Alphys gave a nod. "Yes. It's... down that hall, second door to the... uh... left." Alphys said.

"Thank you." Frisk began to walk the direction that Alphys pointed out. She was mentally preparing herself, because she knew that once they exit Alphys's house, thing were going to get tough again.

* * *

Asriel remained in his room, quietly laying on the bed and listening from in there as he could hear Chara pacing around, quietly muttering to himself. He's seemed so... paranoid for the past half an hour or so. He just suddenly started acting like he had seen a ghost.

It didn't seem to have any spark or reason of coming out. Sure, he was frustrated about Hothead's recent failure, and he knew that Frisk and her friends would be coming over, but Asriel didn't see any reasons in any of those why Chara would suddenly be so paranoid. All of a sudden, when he was looking at a couple old photos, he suddenly began to act really weird. He began muttering something, pacing down a bit, and even at times he held his head and cried a little bit.

Chara kept pacing there, muttering something to himself and whispering to it, while Asriel just listened in, trying to pick up some tangible words from what Chara was mumbling, seeing if he could determine what was going on with Chara. Chara didn't know how much of his human mind he still had after his death, but what he did know that whatever mind he had, he was starting to lose it.

Now, all of a sudden, when he got a message from Darkeol that they were bringing the other Human Souls his way, he swore he kept seeing that damned ghost being all around again. He kept hearing those strange words that sounded like no sort of language, only this time, he couldn't understand a single word of them. He did know one thing, though. It was literally drilling him into madness, and he hated it.

Now he couldn't even look at anything without seeing some sort of similarity between that ghastly being he had seen in his dream. When he looked at a picture of him and Asriel with Asgore and Toriel, with Chara having his face covered by a bunch of flowers he was holding up, he could have sworn he saw himself in the picture lowering those flowers and revealing that being's face.

When he tried to look out into the wilderness and see the sun beautifully shining on the earth, every time he blinked, he saw that being out there, staring at him with that same creepy smile, and then just disappear after a split second.

Hell, even when doing something as simple getting out a Hershey's chocolate bar that he had cooling in the fridge, Chara could have sworn he saw that creepy smile on the wrapper of the bar.

He didn't know who that being was, nor did he know whether he was just seeing things or not, but he knew at this point that what he had seen before he had woken up was more than just a simple dream, and whoever this being was, he was trying to mess with his mind and mentally torture him.

He wanted so bad to just attack the being the next time he saw him and teach him a lesson for messing with him; after all, he was Chara, the demon that had plans to rise up to be much more than just a demon, and with the power of one of the Human Souls, which would soon to be at least three at a time, he would be able to crush anybody, even that stupid ghost... right?...

He thought back to his dream at the time where he had met the being for the first time, after he had been forced to watch his family crumble away and be unable to do anything about it. He hated being powerless, but now he found himself in that position again. He was being tormented nonstop by this being, and somehow he got the feeling that there wasn't much to do about it.

Chara was going crazy from the visions of that being and the constant hearing of that voice in his head. He took a knife from the knife rack and stared at it, as he was thinking of the dream again, thinking about being powerless and unable to stop what happens to his loved ones.

What if he made a mistake when Frisk got there, and ends up hurting somebody that he doesn't want to hurt?... What if he gets in a situation when or if he fights her where he can't do anything to change the situation?... What if one of Frisk's friends attempt to hurt Asriel?... What if...

"...What if that being comes here?" Chara whispered as the question sent chills down his spine.

What if that being that haunted his nightmare was real, and he came before Frisk and her friends do?... What if HE tried to kill Chara?... Would Chara be able to defend himself against him?... What if he tried to hurt Asriel?... Asriel was too kindhearted and innocent to be willing to hurt anyone... he couldn't allow his brother to be hurt by this being.

"...If he does come here... Asriel will need a way to be able to get away from here." Chara thought as he kept the knife in hand, slowly going to Asriel's room. "...He'll need to be able to get out of here... away from that being... away from me..."

He entered Asriel's room, and Asriel remained quiet, not looking at Chara and pretending that he was taking a nap or something. Chara saw him laying on the bed and began to slowly walk towards the bed.

As he did however, he gave a little groan and grabbed his forehead with his left hand as his head began to hurt as he heard a familiar bit of dialogue. _See? I never betrayed you! It was all a trick, see? I was waiting to kill him for you!_

He heard that dialogue and remembered from a past adventure the hatred that he had for the golden flower form of Asriel, who had called himself Flowey the Flower. He remembered despising that flower so much for daring to call itself Asriel... that stupid flower wasn't Asriel... Asriel was... way too pure to be able to hurt anybody... he wouldn't be as cruel and uncaring as that stupid flower...

 _After all, it's me, your best friend! I'm helpful, I can be useful to you. I promise I won't get in your way._

As Chara continued to slowly approach Chara's bed, his right hand began to slowly shake and raise the knife slowly up. It was as if he was back there, slowly walking towards Flowey again, ready to destroy the flower, not out of a desire for strength or power, but just form his pure hatred.

 _I can help... I can... I can..._

Chara was now at the bed, looking at Asriel as it appeared he was napping in the bed. With a little groan, he could feel himself slowly raising his knife in his right hand, shaking out of control. He was losing his mind, alright, and he almost thought he was there in that moment of the past again.

 _Please don't kill me._

Just before Chara was able to do the deed, he was able to snap himself back to reality, and had his hand with the knife lower back to his side, away from hurting his brother. Now, even he himself was becoming too much of a threat for his brother's safety. He had to make sure Asriel knew a way out in case things got too rough.

"Asriel." Chara said as he put his left hand on his shoulder and shook him a bit. "Asriel! Wake up!"

Asriel quickly turned around and looked at Chara. "Jeepers, Chara! You scared me." he said. "What is it?"

"Asriel, I showed you some emergency exits around here, right?" Chara questioned.

"Uh... no... you didn't." Asriel said as he got up. "Chara, what's up with you?"

"Alright, I gotta show you some emergency exits." Chara said as he took Asriel's hand and pulled him to stand up. "Come on, let's go." Chara said as he began to walk, virtually dragging Asriel with him.

"Woah! Hey! Alright, Chara. Hold on, will you?" Asriel questioned as he began to walk along with Chara.

With Asriel still with him, Chara showed him several exits he could take to get out of there, in case something got real bad, but he never told Asriel why exactly he was showing him these.

"Chara... what's going on? You're... acting really weird." Asriel said.

"I..." Chara gave a sigh and shook his head. "I just want to make sure that you'd be able to stay safe, Asriel... if something were to happen in here, I'd want you to have a way out of here... away from me and whatever danger is in here..."

Asriel knew that something was really bothering Chara, and it was driving him crazy, but he wouldn't tell him why. "...Chara." Asriel said as he noticed the knife that was in his hand. "...Wh... why do you have a knife in your hand?"

Chara looked at the knife silently as he thought of an answer to give Asriel. After a few minutes of thought, he gave a sigh and looked to Asriel. "...I'm giving it to you... for your own protection." he said as he held the knife out to him. "...Just in case something goes really bad."

Asriel took the knife in his hand and stared at it. "...Ch... Chara, no." Asriel said and looked up at him. "I... I can't take this thing... I couldn't use this on anybody..."

"...And I pray that the moment you'd need to use it against someone never comes." Chara said with a sigh and patted Asriel's shoulder. "...No matter what happens to me... promise me you'll stay safe, my brother... if it's at all possible... don't get killed at all... can you promise me that?"

"...Chara..." Asriel said as he looked at him. "You're... you're really starting to freak me out... wh... what's going on here? What are you talking about?"

"I... just..." Chara shook his head and looked down. "Just promise me you'll stay safe, alright?! Promise me you'll stay alive no matter what happens to me!"

Asriel flinched a bit at Chara's sudden yelling. "Woah... alright, Chara." Asriel said. "...I promise."

Chara gave a nod and a sigh. It did him quite a bit good knowing that Asriel now knew several ways to get out of there if it were absolutely necessary. "Alright." he said. "...I'm going to be talking with Frisk in her dream again tonight, seeing as how she'll probably be here some time tomorrow... when I do... I want you to come with me."

Asriel looked at Chara strangely. He sounded really uncomfortable with saying that, almost as if he was regretting telling that to Asriel.

"Oh... ok, Chara... but... why?" Asriel questioned. "...Why do you want me to go with you into her dreams?"

"...I've been hiding quite a lot of things from you in the past, my brother." Chara said as he put his hand gently on his shoulder. "...Come tonight... I think... it's time... you learn the truth about me..."


	13. Links to the Past

Chapter 13

Links to the Pasts

Frisk slowly opened her eyes and took in her surroundings as she had 'woken up'. She and her friends were getting closer to finding Chara after taking a couple wrong turns and going down a few different paths. After an hour or so, they knew for a fact they were definitely going the right way, and were approaching Chara with every second they moved on.

It was late at night at the time, and everybody was tired and hungry, so a few more jokes from Sans about how he had never done as much work as walking so far in his life and a few puns about his aching bones, they had finally decided to stop for the night and rest. Toriel had cooked for them again, and this time made a Snail Pie for everybody. Frisk was reluctant on eating it at first, and it definitely had a unique flavor when she finally decided to eat it, but overall it wasn't as bad as someone might believe.

After their meal and a couple of other things, they had decided to book it for the night and get some rest. They weren't sure how early they would have to get up tomorrow, but they knew that they couldn't dilly dally too much in the morning. The faster that they got to Chara and the sooner they stopped him, the better for everybody.

Frisk opened her eyes and found herself in a small room, the walls a dull blue color and there being very little in that room aside from a bed and a desk and chair. She gave a little shudder as she looked around. She knew this dream all too well. Even before she began having nightmares from Chara, this was a dream that always haunted her at night, no matter when or in what way she fell asleep.

As she laid there in the bed, hesitant to get up and to look around the place and be reminded of the life that she had before she had fallen into the Underground, she began to hear the drunken yelling voices of a man and a woman from downstairs. Those voices she was immediately able to identify as the woman and man she was forced to call her mother and her father for so long. She had dreaded every single time she heard their voices in her life, whether it be in her dreams or in the days where she was forced to live with them every day of her life.

" _They're arguing again..._ " she thought to herself as she reluctantly forced herself out of the bed and stood up. There was rain and a bit of thunder in from outside, the rain hitting itself against the window of her room and sliding down the glass, illuminating for a split second every time a bolt of lightning boomed from outside.

The wooden floorboards creaked and groaned with each slow and hesitant footstep she took. The floor sounded much weaker and less steady than she had remembered in her youth... then again, that was quite some time ago. Perhaps the floor was always this creaky, and she had never taken the time to notice it past her parents' drunk arguments and the sound of glass bottles breaking and shattering.

She slowly exited her room and began to walk down the stairs, which were just as creaky and sounding unstable as the floor to her room. As she slowly descended, the sound of her parents' bitter quarrel was being heard louder for her as she could slightly make out what they were yelling about. Her biological father sounded to have been accusing her mother of taking his money and spending it for herself, to which her mother was responding with shouts and throwing of beer bottles, based on the sound of shattering glass against a wall.

She made her way down the stairs and looked into the kitchen, where she could see her mother and father arguing. She shuddered as they had looked just like she remembered.

Her father was a tall man with brown hair, the same color as Frisk's hair, and rather light skin. His arms from under his short sleeved green t-shirt were covered quite fairly by dark hair, and on his middle and index fingers of his left hand, he had a ring each, which Frisk had particularly bad memories of whenever her father had hit her with his left hand, feeling the rings scratch against her skin with each hit. He also had a brown beard goatee that protruded upon his upper lip and chin.

Her mother was an average height woman with long hair as black as the night. Her skin wasn't very dark, but it was just the slightest bit darker than Frisk's. On her right hand, she also had two rings, one of them on her middle finger and the other on her ring finger. Frisk didn't have nearly as many terrible memories of those rings hitting her as she did with her father, but she had quite a few moments where those rings were what she saw when she had her most awful punishments.

As Frisk took another quiet step, she could hear the sound of glass breaking under her shoes. The kitchen floor was covered in the shards of glass that came whenever her parents broke one of their bottles throwing it at the other. The sound of glass shattering under her shoes was nothing new to her, as she had heard it several times in her childhood before her adventure in the Underground had started.

She took a glance at some of the other features of the kitchen that brought back terrible memories that she had long since hoped she could have forgotten. She had seen a wooden paddle by the kitchen counter that her mother had used constantly on her for the slightest mistakes. It was nothing new for parents to spank their children as discipline for misbehaving, Frisk knew that, but she was always paddled for things that were minor and not at all major, and she was always hit with that thing much harder than what should be allowed.

She glanced at the kitchen table and had found a salt shaker, filled with salt and really shuddered at that memory. Her parents made sure she knew that she wasn't to talk about what happened to her from them to anyone, and she was to hide any wound she got from the beatings. If someone figured out about this or brought the wounds to their attention, they would take her open wounds and rub the table salt into them, to let the burning pain 'teach her a lesson', as they would call it.

There was also a hammer that she could just barely catch a glimpse of on the kitchen counter. Though the hammer was never used physically on her, and it was honestly rarely used, there were times where her parents had smashed her possessions for some reason. The reasons that they may have had were never really clear to Frisk; she never wanted to know them anyway.

The memories were becoming too much for her as she began to walk out of the kitchen towards the living room. As she did, she could hear the sound of a little girl crying out of fear and sadness. She didn't have to look around to know that that was herself as a young child crying under the table in the living room. She had seen it several times, so it was nothing new.

When she had gotten there to the living room, however, she was very surprised to see that at the table, there was somebody else standing there. She could never forget the look of the person who stood there, though it was someone she thought she would never see again. It was a young monster, very close to around her height. He looked pretty much like Asgore and Toriel, with the exception of not having any horns. He wore a green and yellowish-green striped shirt and a pair of black pants.

"Asriel?" Frisk asked softly, causing the monster to look at her.

"...Hey, Frisk." Asriel said with a little smile and a nod. "It... it's been quite a while, huh?"

"Wh... what are you doing here?" Frisk questioned as she slowly approached Asriel.

"...I had to know the truth, Frisk... I wanted to learn why exactly you went to the mountain that day." Asriel said as he looked back under the table. "...I... I never pictured that this was what life was like for you... you both seem to have had it so bad in your youths..."

"...Both of us?" Frisk questioned as she began to slowly approach the table. "...What do you mean both of us?"

Curious, she looked down under the table to see what Asriel was talking about. She saw herself as a child, curled up under the table, crying loudly, but nobody hearing her cries. She was covered in wounds and had many bruises on her body. It was exactly like she had always seen in this dream.

However, she was surprised to see that beside her was another child that looked just as bad as she did. He too had many wounds covering his body, and his hands had several red burn marks. The boy kept his face down and buried under his arms, so she wasn't really able to make out who it was.

She was more than confused. She didn't have any siblings, and she was never with somebody in those moments; she had always been alone every single time she was in this situation. "Who... who is this?" Frisk questioned as she began to slowly approach the boy. Sensing that she was approaching, they boy looked up to her, and Frisk couldn't believe her eyes.

Aside from having many bruises and wounds on his face like her, there were two details about the boy's face that really stood out to her. The first one being his eyes, which looked all too familiar and haunting to her. The other detail was hard to notice past all the bruises, but if she looked hard enough, Frisk was able to make out the boy's cheeks having a rose color blush to them.

To her knowledge, there was only one boy in the entire world that always had that rosy blush on his cheeks, and the eyes the boy had matched perfectly. "It... it can't be..." Frisk said as she stared at the boy, unable to believe just who it was she was seeing.

"...Pitiful, isn't it?" came the voice of the one Frisk was thinking of, causing her to glance away from the two under the table and look at the owner of the voice, which made Asriel look at him too. "...Pitiful to think there was a time where I was so weak and helpless... a time where all I could do was let all these terrible things happen to me, and be unable to do anything about them..."

"...Chara..." Frisk whispered silently as she stared at him in disbelief.

"...Yes. It's me." Chara said as he walked over to Frisk and Asriel. "...Now do you see what I meant when I told you that you and I really aren't so different, Frisk?" Chara questioned as he glanced at Frisk's younger self and his own younger self cowering under the table. "...Do you now understand what I meant by us going to Mount Ebott for the same reason?"

"...You... you were abused too." Frisk said. "...You... didn't get any love from your parents..."

"...They were drug addicts... much like your parents were drunkards." Chara said with a sigh, his voice filled with bitter resentment towards the memories of those he was forced to call his biological parents. "...I was always accused of taking their money that they had for those drugs... they always beat me to get me to say I did... always neglected me if I kept on asserting that I took nothing... even a few rare times where they burnt my hands on the stove for 'lying'... they made my life a living Hell..."

"...So... the reason that you went up to the mountain really was the same as mine..." Frisk said as she gave a little shudder. "You... you went up to the mountain-"

"To kill myself... yes." Chara finished with a nod. "...I decided that if my own parents couldn't give me any love... if I didn't have anybody I could run to for help... what good was living if I was just going to have to face the same pain every day for the rest of my life?... I ran to the mountain... and I was originally going to just jump down the ledge and fall to my doom... but then I saw the hole that led to the Underground... and I decided that perhaps it would be more efficient if I just jumped down there."

Frisk gave a shudder at that and Asriel sat down quietly as the sound of Frisk's parents arguing seemed to have melted away, and they were left with silence as Chara went on. Asriel didn't like hearing stories of sadness and pain like that, but he knew that he had to know the truth sooner or later.

"...I was surprised, however, to find that for some reason, even after that massive drop that most certainly should have killed me, I found myself alive... injured and in great pain... but alive, nonetheless." Chara said with a shudder. "...I began to grow a bit apprehensive as I laid there, letting the thought of what would happen after my death sink in... 'Is there really a God up there?' ... 'What will happen to me after I die?' ... 'Is there a Heaven or a Hell?' ... 'Where will I go?' ...all these questions raced through my head, as I laid there, writhing in pain as I waited for either death or unconsciousness to take me away..."

"...That's where I found you." Asriel said as he looked down. "...You were hurt... bleeding on the ground... Mom and I... helped you... we took you in as a member of our family..."

"...And for that, my brother... I could never thank you enough." Chara said as he sat down and looked down. "...The time that I spent with you and our parents was the only time in my whole life where I genuinely felt happy... I finally had a mother and a father that loved me as a son... I finally had a family..."

Frisk listened on silently as she looked at Chara. She knew that he was telling the truth... but part of her still couldn't believe it. He really was very similar to her.

"...Overtime, however, as my dreams were becoming worse, and my sleep still taunting me with those memories... my hatred for my biological parents had grown to a hatred for all of humanity... after all, if my own parents hated my guts like that, then there couldn't have been any other love in all of humanity... it began to eat at my very being... I couldn't allow everything they had done to me to go unanswered... and so... I devised a plan with Asriel... I would poison myself and kill myself, and allow my brother to absorb my soul to get through the barrier... we'd gather human souls until we had enough power to destroy the barrier, and we would let all the monsters free... it would undoubtedly cause a war... and I knew that we could destroy humanity through that..."

"...But if that's the case, why didn't you?" Frisk questioned.

"...My brother began to think twice before going along with the plan... he's... so pure and innocent, he could never hurt anybody... when he got to where I once lived, he was attacked and mortally wounded by the humans... I tried to get Asriel to fight back, to save my brother, but he wouldn't do it... he went back into the Underground and eventually died... my own plan had caused my brother's death..."

Asriel gave a little shudder at the memory. He remembered Chara shouting his name, telling him to fight as he was getting attacked by the humans.

"...However, even though my plan seemed to have failed... it wasn't completely over with... through the humans killing my brother, Father went into a great rage." Chara said. Somehow, it sent a chill down Frisk's back to have Chara refer to Asgore as his father still. "...He declared that he would reap the souls of any humans that entered the Underground and break the barrier... then he would use that power to destroy all of humanity, so the Monsters could finally live on the surface without any problems."

"...And he almost did." Frisk said as she looked at Chara. "...He almost got all of the souls needed to go along with his plan, but... Toriel stopped him before he and I could fight."

"...Oh, that's not quite how it goes." Chara said as he looked at Frisk. "...You see... overtime, as the Seventh Human that had fallen to the Underground had their soul reaped, I began to realize that my father didn't have the stomach to do this anymore... I knew that he couldn't bear to hurt anyone anymore... so I decided to take matters into my own hands... and I chose to do so with you, Frisk."

Both Asriel and Frisk looked up at Chara. Neither of the two had any idea of what he was talking about. "...What do you mean?" Frisk questioned. "...What do you mean by taking matters into your own hands with me?"

"...You remember when I told you several times that we had made a deal?" Chara questioned. "...Well... when you had hurled yourself into the Underground and survived, I came to you... I had made you a deal... if you would allow me to go into you and take control of you as if you were my own body at times... I would protect you from anyone that tried to hurt you..."

"I... I don't remember that at all." Frisk said with a shake of her head. "I never met you back in the-"

"Hold your horses... let me finish." Chara said. "...The deal was made, and we went about with your adventure... together, you and I made our way to Asgore, and we killed everyone that got in our way... Toriel... Papyrus... Undyne, Sans, Metatton... we killed them all..."

Frisk suddenly stopped cold as Chara said that. Suddenly, she began to remember those dreams she had. She remembered dreaming of every single thing that Chara was telling her... her hands began to shake as she was starting to get a very chilling realization. What she was dreaming in all of her dreams... was it all true?

"...After we killed everyone in the Underground, I went through and destroyed the entire world with the power I had gotten from us slaughtering everybody... but sooner or later, you began to regret what you had done for whatever reason... you wanted to go back... and so I decided that that was the best time to start my plan anew... and I had made the deal with you."

Frisk looked down in shame as Asriel looked at Frisk, unable to believe what he was hearing. He was looking to see if what Chara was saying was true, and Frisk's actions told him everything. "...You... you killed everybody?" Asriel questioned.

"...And I made a deal with you." Frisk said and looked at Chara. "...You allowed me to go back into the world and undo what I had done... in exchange for my soul..."

Chara nodded and gave a sigh. "...You had done everything that you wanted to do... you changed the future and saved everybody... and I would have gone along with my plan and taken your soul right after you were finished... but... I had discovered something that ultimately changed my mind then and there." he explained. "Something that caused me to put my plan to a halt right then and there."

"...You discovered that I was still around, right?" Asriel questioned. "...You found out that in the form of Flowey... I was still alive."

"...I had thought that Flowey was nothing but an imitation of my brother... I thought that he just claimed himself to be Asriel... but when I saw Flowey change into my own dear brother... that changed everything for me... I now had a decision on my hands... I could either go along with my plan then and there, and guarantee that everything would go how I expected them to go... or I could use a majority of my power to find my brother's soul, and bring him back to life... and after several days of weighing my options and thinking about everything... I made my decision..."

He went over to Asriel and hugged him close for a minute or two. "...I brought my brother back."

"...I'm alive and with him now." Asriel said as he looked down. "...When you find where Chara is... you'll find me there with him, Frisk."

Frisk looked at Chara. "...You... you took control of me." Frisk said. "...You had me kill everybody... and then... you let me go back... for my soul..."

"Yes... in a way, I guess you can say I made your life a living Hell." Chara said with a shrug. "...You probably hate me now that you know the truth, huh?" He gave a sigh and looked back at the table, the two children still sitting there, huddled up and cowering.

"...Do you want me to answer that question honestly?" Frisk asked as she looked at Asriel and Chara. "...Because in all honesty... no. I don't hate you."

Asriel and Chara both looked at Frisk when she said that. Asriel wasn't really surprised, as even after hearing about what Frisk had done before all of this, he knew that Frisk was still one of the best people he had ever met. Chara, however, was more than shocked. "...Wh... what?" he questioned.

"I don't hate you." Frisk repeated. "In fact... I almost feel like thanking you right now."

"Th... thank me?" Chara was really confused now. "Wh... what are you talking about?"

"Well... if what you had just told me is true, then I really did quite a number of terrible things before you and I made that deal, yes?" Frisk asked. "...You gave me the chance to reverse that... you let me go back and change everything I did."

"...For my own benefit, Frisk." Chara said. "Besides, I'm the one that had you do all those terrible things anyway..."

"...They always do say that the ends justify the means." Frisk said with a shrug of her shoulders. "Besides, looking back at what you've shown and what you've told me, you and I really are similar in a number of ways... we both had rough lives and we both didn't have any love before we had fallen into the Underground... in all honesty... I just can't bring myself to hate you."

"..." Chara gave a little curious sigh as he stood up and began to walk over to the window. He watched as the rain began to hit against the window. "...I... don't suppose I can have you change your mind and honor our deal... now that you know everything about it." he said as he looked out the window.

"...Sorry, Chara... but I'm afraid not." Frisk said as she stood up. "...I now understand that we made a deal... I now see that I gave my soul to you... but I can't let you have it... not when I know what you're planning to do with it."

"...I understand." Chara said with a little nod and a sigh. "...So be it then... when you arrive at where Asriel and I are... then we'll have our battle to decide the fate of humanity... I suggest that you and your friends be prepared, Frisk..." He looked at Frisk, his eyes looking like wide empty sockets again, as if he was about to do that creepy face. "...Because once you arrive... and we start our battle... I'm not going to hold anything back... I'll fight with all my force."

"...As will I." Frisk said. She didn't want to fight Chara, but if she really had no choice, then she would fight if absolutely necessary.

Chara gave a nod, and he slowly faded away. Frisk gave a sigh and looked down with her eyes closed, waiting to be taken out of the dream and back into reality.

"Frisk! Wait!" Asriel said, making Frisk open her eyes again and looking at Asriel. "Frisk... I... I want to ask you something."

"...What do you want to ask me, Asriel?" she questioned. "...If it has anything to do with what Chara said about what happened before he and I made that deal-"

"No... it has nothing to do with that." Asriel said. He gave a sigh and looked at his hand as he put it in his pocket and pulled out a little heart shaped locket from it. "...Do you believe... that even the worst of people can change?... That they can be good people if they tried?..."

"...I suppose if it's possible for someone like me... it's possible for anyone." Frisk said as she looked at Asriel. "...You... want me to see if I can help change Chara... am I correct?"

Asriel gave a sigh and a nod. "...I don't know if you'd understand it... but I still really love Chara... he's my brother, and my best friend..." he said as he held the locket close to his heart. "...Sure, he's done bad things in the past... but I still believe that he can change if he just gave himself the chance..."

He looked at Frisk and went on. "I... I know that he's done a number of things to you in the past... I know that you might not be able to understand why I would want you to... but... please... help Chara... save him... like you saved me..."

"...I don't know what I can do for your brother, Asriel." Frisk said. "...I don't know whether or not he'll give me the chance to save him..." She looked at him, her eyes burning with a familiar determination. "...But I promise you... so long as I still stand and breathe... I'll do everything I can to save your brother."

Asriel smiled and nodded. "Thank you." he said. "...Please stay safe, Frisk... you're Chara's only hope of changing now..."

Frisk gave a nod and watched as Asriel also faded away, leaving her there. She glanced back at the table and saw that both of the beaten children were gone. The house seemed completely empty. "...So then... this is it... there will be no turning back now." she said with a sigh. "...Once I wake up and continue on... I'll have to keep going forward..." She gave a nod and closed her eyes as she was slowly waking out of the dream world, arriving back into reality.


	14. Point of No Return

Chapter 14

Point of No Return

Through the rest of the night, after that conversation with Asriel and Chara, where Frisk found out the truth about what Chara really meant, and what he was talking about overtime he claimed they made a deal, she found herself back to where she was before this whole thing started, looking at the nightmares that haunted her before Chara had begun to hunt her down. This time, however, she finally understood why she was having them. She now knew that they were a lot more than just mere dreams.

She never could have imagined that these 'nightmares', as she would still call them for some strange reason, were visions of the deeds that she had done in another world... the murder of all of the monsters that she had met in the Underground. She relived those terrible moments that she had long since forgotten that she had, only to be reminded of them by Chara, a boy who, as she now understood, was very similar to her in more ways than one.

It was pretty heartbreaking for her to know the truth about what had happened in the past, not just for herself, but for the people the monsters that she had befriended now. Asgore, Sans, Papyrus, Undyne, Alphys... even Toriel, the Monster that took her in as her daughter... it really hurt to know that there was a time where the best friends that she had ever made in her life, the ones that she could never be thankful enough for, were in another timeline, slaughtered by Chara and her for the sake of Chara becoming stronger.

Would they think of her in the same way they did now if they knew the truth? Would any of them stay, or would all of them go and leave her to deal with Chara by herself? She was going to have to find out the answer to that soon enough. She couldn't leave her friends in the dark of this matter, even though she really wanted to. Perhaps if they left her to deal with Chara, it would be a lot better for their wellbeing. After all, if she was dangerous to them back then, she was beginning to wonder if history would repeat itself, and if her becoming a threat to all those friends of hers again could possibly happen.

As she laid there on the ground, staring up at the sky as the sun was slowly starting to rise up, she began to think about what Chara had said again, and began to shudder. It was such a terrifying thought when she thought about it. What kind of powerful, overwhelming hatred could possibly have driven a child to the terrible deeds that he had done for the sake of revenge? Even with their abuse being known, how could a mother and a father be capable of bringing such malice out of an innocent child?

If she and Chara were really similar, and it had been her that fell in the Underground instead of Chara, what would happen to her? Would she be more like how she was now, or would she have done the same things that Chara had done before she fell? She didn't really know, and she was grateful that this time, she wasn't going to have the chance in finding out.

The sun was rising now, dawn was upon them, and she knew that very soon, her friends were going to wake up. All of the monsters were still asleep at the moment, with the exception of Undyne, who volunteered to stay guard while the others were resting. She glanced as she saw Undyne pacing around, standing guard with a spear in her one hand as she remained vigilant for any enemy that may come.

Frisk gave a shudder as she watched Undyne pacing around, guarding the camp like a bulldog would guard its bone. She was beginning to picture worst case scenarios of when Undyne finds out what exactly happened in the past... she hoped that Undyne wouldn't be in a very feisty mood like she was when Hothead came around. With a sigh and a shake of her head, deciding that she wasn't going to be getting any more sleep now, she sat up and stretched, trying to rub the remaining drowsy out of her eyes.

Undyne caught sight of Frisk sitting up fairly quickly. She wasn't let any inch of visible ground escape her vision from any side. "...You're up awfully early." Undyne said as she looked at Frisk and stopped marching around the camp.

"Yeah..." Frisk said with a little nod. "I didn't get very much sleep..."

"You have another bad dream?" Undyne questioned as she walked over. She supposed since people were going to be getting up soon, she could stop marching around. Her legs were honestly feeling a bit sore from doing all that pacing. "You've been having quite a lot of those these days."

"Well... not necessarily a dream, but..." Frisk looked at the sun as it was beginning to rise over the horizon now, starting to bathe the surface of the earth with its glow. "...I'll tell you a bit later, when all the others wake up... I have to tell it to everyone."

Undyne gave a little uncomfortable look at Frisk. She already didn't like the sound of that. "Well... alright." she said, deciding to wait to find out more about it until she comes out and tells it to her and all the others.

"...Are we to get the others up now?" Frisk questioned as she watched the sun fully rise and shine in the sky. She always enjoyed the view of a sunrise. Always reminded her that tomorrow was a new day, to look forward to any of the could haves or should haves that she had from the day before.

"Yes, I suppose we should." Undyne said with a nod as she began to walk to the others in the camp. "Don't want to spend the entire morning waking all these guys up. If we do that, we're not gonna have any time before the next night falls."

The first one that they went to get up was Sans. They had both mutually agreed that Sans was more than likely going to be the hardest of the five to wake up, so they decided to get him out of the way. Aside from that, Sans also had that trombone of his; if he had it on him at the moment, they could be able to have him use it to wake the others up quicker.

They went to Sans's tent and saw him laying on the ground, sleeping quietly with his eyes closed. There seemed to be a strange, eerie feeling in the tent as Sans's slept, as if there was some other force in there at the moment, but there didn't appear to be anybody else physically there. From under the 'eyelid' of Sans's left eye, there could be seen what could only be described as little yellow and blue sparks that could be seen.

"...I don't think this has ever happened before." Undyne said as she looked quietly as Sans's left eye continued to give visible sparks as it remained closed in his sleep. "...I've seen him napping on the job countless times, and I don't think I've ever seen something like this before."

"...Should we wake him up, or let him sleep and wake up himself?" Frisk questioned as she slowly approached Sans. She didn't want to disturb him and risk something bad happening if this wasn't supposed to be happening, but she also didn't want to leave him asleep if something bad was happening to him.

"...You can try to wake him up... but be careful." Undyne said as she stood at the ready, bracing herself for just in case she needed to take some quick action.

Frisk gave an understanding nod and slowly and quietly walked to Sans, watching the colors sparking from under the eyelid of his left eye. She began to ever so slowly reach for his shoulder, hesitating to touch it. "...Sans?" she asked softly as she touched his shoulder.

She had barely touched him, but immediately when her hand came in contact with the skeleton's bone shoulder, his eyelids immediately shot open, making Frisk gave a surprised yelp and back away and Undyne immediately taking a step back, ready for what could happen. The white pupil of Sans's right socket was gone, leaving a hallow black socket, while his left eye's pupil was glowing yellow and blue.

As that eye of his continued to flash those colors, some strange noise could be heard throughout the tent. It sounded like a strange technological speech, as if some kind of computer was trying to talk to them, yet there was still nobody else there aside from Sans, Undyne and Frisk.

In about a few seconds, Sans closed his eyes for a couple seconds before opening them again, and when he did, the sound that was being projected vanished as instantly as it had appeared, and Sans's familiar white pupils were there.

"Sans... are... are you ok?" Frisk questioned.

"..." Sans gave a little nod and slowly stood up. There was a somber, secretive feel to him that was almost never projected from someone like Sans. "Y... yeah... I'm alright." he said with a nod and a stretch. "Just still a bit tired, that's all."

"What was with that glowing in your eye?" Undyne questioned.

"What glowing?"

"The... the glowing that happened in your eye while you were sleeping." Undyne said as she pointed to his left socket. "You opened your eyes just seconds ago and your left eye was glowing yellow and blue."

Sans remained quiet for a second before shrugging his shoulders, answering Undyne's question, though sounding almost reluctant about saying anything. "I'm not really sure." he replied. "I was obviously asleep when it happened, so I don't know."

"Well... did you dream of anything last night?" Frisk questioned.

"...Well... not really." Sans said, again sounding very reluctant about answering that question. He definitely knew something, and he was trying to hide it from them.

"...Whatever you say." Undyne said with a shake of her head, having not much time to argue. "...You got your trombone? We may need it to help wake people up."

Sans gave a nod and reached from his coat pocket, and inexplicably pulled out the trombone, which should have been way too big to fit in that small pocket. Both Undyne and Frisk were standing there, expecting him to make some terrible pun about skeletons and trombones, but he didn't. "Yeah... I... I got the trombone." he said without making a single pun when given the golden opportunity. That wasn't like Sans at all. "Need me to help people wake up?"

"...Alright, Sans. What's wrong?" Undyne said as she crossed her arms. "Come on... I literally walked into the chance of you making a skeleton pun, and you don't cash in on it?"

"Yeah... Undyne's right." Frisk said with a nod. She gave a little giggle and tried to see if she could make a pun herself to cheer Sans up. "You... well... you always take the time to try and tickle our funny bones."

Undyne gave a groan and looked at Frisk with a look of 'are you serious right now?', which made Frisk giggle a bit more. However, Sans didn't even give a chuckle. He just looked down to the ground, as if lost in thought.

"...Sans?" Frisk questioned as she went right in front of him, looking right into his eyes, but got not a single reaction. It was as if Sans was in some kind of trance. He just completely zoned out. "...Sans." Frisk took his hands and began to shake him slightly.

"Huh? What?" Sans said as he gave a quick shake of his head to get himself back to reality and looked around, as if trying to see if there was someone in the room.

"...I said that you always take the time to try and tickle our funny bones... it was a bone pun." Frisk said.

"Oh... good one." Sans said halfheartedly. "...Sorry, Frisk. I guess I'm a little tired yet." he lied.

"Do you need to get anymore sleep?" Undyne questioned as she crossed her arms. "I really don't like you just lounging around and napping all the time, but I also wouldn't want you trying to put up a fight with a demon half asleep. If you really need to get some more rest-"

"N-no. I'm fine." Sans said as he got his trombone to his lips and looked at Undyne. "I'm fine... just need a minute or so." He then went out to wake up all the others with his trombone. He seemed a little careful and hesitant with each of his steps out of the tent.

"...Something's up with Sans." Undyne said. "...Remind me to check up on him a few times of the day... I don't want something being wrong with him and having no knowledge of it."

Frisk nodded and glanced over as Sans went into Papyrus's tent. Papyrus was laying down asleep, his hands held out in front of him and looking as if he was steering a car. "Ehh... yeah... we're almost to the Italian restaurant, Sans." Papyrus muttered in his sleep as he continued to dream drive. "Eh... spaghetti, lasagna, and alfredo as far as the eye can see..."

Sans gave a little roll of his eyes and a very slight chuckle. To the very least, not too many things had changed about Papyrus. He took the trombone, put it to his 'lips' and was about to play loud to wake up Papyrus.

"N... no, Sans... put that instrument away..." Papyrus grumbled as he continued to drive dream. "...I know it's called a trom-bone, I don't want you making that pu... no... Sans... I'm warning you... don't you dare play that incidental music on our car trip..."

Sans gave a little shrug and a chuckle as he took a deep breath in and gave a wamp-wamp-wamp on his trombone, blasting his air through the instrument at a high volume, filling the entire tent with the sound of the brass instrument.

Papyrus sprung up and landed on his rear. "Sans!" he shouted in surprise at the suddenness of his awakening. "What the heck was that for?!"

"Undyne told me to wake you up with my trombone." he said as he patted his instrument and looked at Papyrus. "Seems like I did a pretty good job, huh?"

"Agh... well, at least you did one part of your job..." Papyrus muttered as he stood up, rubbing his 'ears' with his fingers before remembering that he didn't have any ears. "You could have at least gave me a bit of a warning before you played it so loud."

"Well, if I gave you a warning before I went along and played this, then I wouldn't have to play this in the first place." Sans said with a shrug and a chuckle. "Alright, come on. Get up, man. We gotta get going soon."

Papyrus gave a nod and stood up, wide awake and ready to roll after having the worst wake up call that he could have ever asked for. "Yes! I, the Great Papyrus, must be wide awake and ready for any action for when we go off on our adventure to save the world!"

Sans just gave a nod and looked down, muttering under his breath. "Let's just see if you're still willing to go with Frisk when she tells us the truth."

"What was that, Sans?" Papyrus questioned as he heard Sans muttering, but didn't understand how quiet Sans was.

"Uh... nothing." Sans said with a shake of his head. "Don't worry about it."

"Well... alright." Papyrus said as he walked out of the tent. "Do you need any help getting any of the others up?"

"Nah. I'll be alright getting the others." Sans said with a little lazy shrug of his shoulders. "Why don't you just... uh... well... go out and let Undyne know you're awake. I'll get the others."

"Very well then." Papyrus said with a nod as he began walking to the tent of Undyne.

"Eh... my brother..." Sans said with a chuckle and a nod. He messed with Papyrus quite a lot, but he still really cared for him. He walked out and began moving towards Asgore's tent, to see him already walking out of his tent and rubbing his ears a little bit. "Oh... you're already up." Sans said.

"Yeah... I... heard your trombone playing." Asgore grumbled as he looked at Sans. "Ugh... what time is it?"

Sans gave a shrug and replied with, "Time to get up, I guess." he said. "I don't really know what time it is. Undyne just told me to get up and help the rest of you get up."

Asgore nodded and grumbled a bit. "Well... I hope the others heard that loud playing of yours and woke up as well... I don't think I could bear hearing you play it that loud again."

"Meh. No promises." Sans said with a shrug. "Anyway... I'm gonna tell you the same thing that I told Papyrus, and get yourself over and tell her you're awake."

"Oh... before I do that... I suppose I should go and make sure Tori wakes up, if she hasn't already." Asgore said. "I wouldn't want you waking her up like you woke Papyrus up." He gave a stretch and a scratch of his beard as he was going over to Toriel's tent to wake her up.

Sans, meanwhile, went to Alphys's tent. Seemed that she was already up, taking a little time to tinker with the device. "...What are you doing there?" Sans questioned.

"Making sure this device will have enough charge to lead us to Chara." Alphys answered.

"Oh." Sans said with an understanding nod. "...Well, come on then. Let's get going. Undyne wants to make sure all of us are up and at them."

Eventually, all of the others were gathered up. It seemed that all of them were ready to go, but before they were to head out and find Chara, Frisk had told them that she needed to tell them something. All eyes were on her as she was about to let them know the truth.

"What is it, child?" Toriel questioned. "...What do you need to tell us?"

Frisk gave a nervous sigh as she looked down. She could feel her body grow cold and her heart race as she was beginning to become more apprehensive of telling them. She didn't want them to think of her badly. "I... I wanted to say... you guys... really don't have to come with me... if... if any of you really want to go back to your homes now..."

"This again?" Undyne questioned. "Frisk, we gave you our answer once, and that stays true. We're not going to leave you to this on your own."

"Yes, Undyne is right." Papyrus said. "We're all friends here, Frisk. All of us will stick with each other and have each other's backs throughout the end."

"N-no. You guys... you don't understand." Frisk said as she looked up at them. "I... I'm just trying to look out for you guys... all of you... please... leave this issue to me now..."

"Frisk, you know that's not happening." Alphys said. "We went through so much with you, and we aren't going to let everything we've worked for through these past couple of days go to waste."

"But... you guys... I..." Frisk gave a shake of her head and looked down. Her hands were trembling and her knees were knocking together as she shook. She knew that all of them had to know, but she was so scared of telling them.

"...Frisk... there's something wrong, isn't there?" Asgore questioned. "...What's going on?... Why are you asking us to leave this issue to you?..."

Frisk gave a little whimper in fear as she looked at all of their faces. All of them had different emotions on them, whether determination, thoughtfulness or concern, but each one of them had that same care and love for Frisk in their eyes. She was terrified that once she told them the truth, the love and care they had for her would disappear in an instant. After all, would they possibly consider her a friend if she slaughtered them all at one time?

"...I think I know what you want to tell us." Sans said with a sigh, making Frisk look at him. His skeletal face also had that caring look in those eyes, but at the same time, it had a knowing look to them. Frisk trembled at the thought... seemed that somehow, Sans might have already known about what she did.

"...It's been hidden from you all this time before last night... and it's been hidden from me until last night as well..." Sans said. "...It's time, Frisk... the truth will set you free."

"...You're right, Sans." Frisk said and looked down. "...I didn't want to tell any of you this... I didn't want any of you to know, after I myself had learned it... but... I can't keep it from you any further... you have to know the truth..."

"Wh... what truth?" Toriel questioned. She and Asgore looked at each other, none of them having a clue on what to think or what Frisk was talking about. Both of them looked back at her. "What do you need to tell us, Frisk?"

"...I..." she gave a shudder and looked down. She couldn't look at any of their eyes... she couldn't look at any of them as she told them. "...I talked with Chara again last night... and... I learned why he's been hunting me down these past couple of days... he... he was right... he and I... we made a deal at one time... I... I owe him my soul..."

"You made a deal with that demon?" Papyrus questioned. "You gave him your soul?... Why would you do that, Frisk? What could he have possibly offered you that was more than-"

"He offered me a second chance." Frisk said as she shook her head, cutting Papyrus off before he could finish speaking. "...He and I... we made a deal... if I gave him my soul... he would... he would reverse what I had done in the world... he would give me a second chance to right all the wrong I did..."

"Wh... what do you mean?" Alphys asked. "What are you talking about 'reverse what you had done in the world'?"

"...Do you all remember what I told you about my dreams?" Frisk questioned as she looked at all of them, looking at all of their faces as they stared quietly at her. "...Do you all remember... those dreams I've told you I've been having before this?"

"Dreams?" Undyne questioned and glanced at Alphys, Papyrus, Toriel and Asgore. Alphys and Papyrus didn't seem to know what she was referring to either, but it seemed like Toriel and Asgore had an idea. "...Is there something that I missed here?"

"...Oh... that's right... I forgot... Mom and Mr. Asgore were the only ones that I told those about." Frisk said with a little ironic chuckle.

"She... she's been having bad dreams weeks before Chara started hunting her down." Toriel said as she looked at Undyne, Papyrus and Alphys. Sans just remained quiet and listened on, though somehow, it looked as if he had already known about those. "...They were dreams of her being in the Underground... but... instead of the way that she had taken them... she sees herself doing a number of terrible things... killing many monsters... including us..."

"Yes..." Frisk said with a nod. "...Those... those dreams... they... they weren't just dreams after all... they..." She gave a fearful sigh and looked down after all of her friends looked back at her again. "They... they... they actually happened... I... I really did kill you all."

"Wh-what?!" Asgore exclaimed as Frisk said those words. All the others were too shocked at what she said. This had to have been some sick elaborate prank Sans and her were pulling... there was no way they heard her right.

"Uh... Frisk, I don't believe I heard you right... you know, not having any ears." Papyrus said, scratching at the places on his head where his ears would be if he had them. "I... I could have sworn I heard you say-"

"That I killed you all... yes... you did hear me correctly." Frisk said with a sigh. "...When I went down into the Underground... I was afraid... I was terrified... Chara came to me the second that I fell down there... he... he promised me that he would help guide me... that he would help protect me down there, and that nobody in the Underground would hurt me..."

"I... I don't get what you're trying to pull on us, Frisk." Undyne said, trying to get Frisk to say that she wasn't really serious at all. "You... you couldn't have killed us... I mean... all of us are still here... so how could you have killed us if we're standing right here?"

"...That's what I meant by reversing what I had done in the world." Frisk said. "...After Chara and I killed all of you... he used all the power he had gained through me slaughtering everybody... his LOVE that I had helped him gain... to destroy the entire world... the only ones that were remaining left in existence were me and Chara... but... overtime... I wanted to go back, and reverse what I had done..."

"...That's why you made the deal with Chara." Sans said. "...You wanted to reverse all of the terrible things you and him did... and so you gave what one thing you had left to save everyone else."

Frisk gave a nod and a sigh. "...I... I had done so much harm then... I just wanted to make everything right... I wanted to save everybody... I... I never intended for all of this to happen... I'm sorry... everyone..."

"...Why did you listen to him in the first place?" Toriel questioned gently. "...Child... please, help us understand... why did Chara come to you... and why did you listen to him when he came to you?..."

"...Because... just as he said... he and I really weren't so different." Frisk said. "...My parents... mi biological parents, I mean... they hated me... I was always some setback or a punching bag for them... they always got drunk and always argued whenever they weren't making my life Hell... every moment they had, they had always beaten me or rubbed salt in my wounds..."

"...You're... you're not going to tell us... that Chara was the same way... a... are you?" Asgore questioned, feeling his heart weigh heavy on the topic.

"...According to him, he was abused just as badly as I was... that's why we went up into Mount Ebott when we did." she said. "...Both of us could no longer take any of the pain... we were sick of being hurt so badly, and having absolutely no power to do anything about it... we were tired of having no love in our lives... for the same reason... to end our lives... we threw ourselves down the hole that led to the Underground... both of us expecting to die... but both of us somehow surviving."

"...That's why Chara never spoke of it..." Toriel said as she looked down. "...He was hurt so bad by it..."

Frisk gave a nod and a sigh. "...I learned the truth about this just last night... I... I didn't want to tell all of you... I... I was afraid of what you would think... but... I knew that I had to... and... now that you know... it... probably changes every view you have on me, huh?" She gave a shake of her head and looked down.

As she stood there silently, expecting them to start walking away from her, she could hear footsteps as Undyne approached her. That must have been what was going to happen. They weren't just going to leave her there, they were also going to get revenge on what she did to them... it's not like she didn't deserve to be attacked by them... she stood there, bracing herself and getting ready to feel their attacks on her, just like how she always did before she fell into the Underground.

However, instead of feeling Undyne's fist slamming into her face or her stomach, she heard the sound of Undyne taking a knee and putting her hand on her shoulder. Frisk hesitated and remained quiet as she slowly looked up at Undyne, who was kneeling by her with her hand on her shoulder. Frisk looked into her eyes and was amazed that she found those same caring and loving eyes that Undyne had before she told everyone the truth.

"...You're wrong, Frisk." Undyne said. "...What you've just told us... doesn't change anything."

"Wha... but... why?" Frisk questioned. "...You... found out that I... killed you and all of your friends... and... you... still don't hate me?..."

"Nyeh heh heh! Of course we don't, Frisk." Papyrus said as he stood tall and proud. "You've gone through a lot of things for and with us, even when we tried to capture or kill you. We've gone through a number of things with you, and we know that you're our friend."

Alphys nodded and stepped forward. "You may have killed us in one universe... but here, we're still here with you... and we're not going to let what happened... or rather, didn't happen, get in the way of our friendship..." She gave a little shrug and began to nerd out a little bit. "Besides... what you've just told us proves what I said on Metatton's Quiz anyway. There really are multiple parallel universes out there, and just because one thing may happen, if different circumstances are met-"

"Uh... Alphys, you may want to save that stuff for later." Sans suggested. "You know... I'm sure we're all very interested in the multiple parallel universes theory, or whatever you call it, but I'm sure now's not the... most opportune time, since we're a little short on time."

"Uh... o-oh. Right." Alphys stuttered with a little embarrassed blush and scratched the back of her head. "S-sorry."

Asgore smiled gently at Frisk. "You're the hope of both humanity and all monsters, Frisk." he said as he looked up to the sky. "...You've made mistakes at one time, we all have... but know that no matter what happens, no matter who you may have hurt... that still doesn't stop us from caring about you."

"...As much as I don't like to admit it... Asgore is right, my child." Toriel said. "...I promised to take care of you and protect you... and to love you as a mother... and just as I loved my sons back then... and just like I still love my children to this day, no matter what Chara had done... I still will love and care for you, no matter what..." Toriel never knew that Asriel was Flowey the whole time, and at this moment, it seems that Frisk wouldn't be telling them that Asriel was alive and with Chara now.

Frisk looked up at all of her friends and, as she could now call one... or possibly two of them, family. She was at a complete loss of words. Even after they had learned what she had done to them... even if there was a risk that Chara may find a way to have it happen again... they were still willing to stand by her side, and still call her their friend, through all of it. She felt overwhelmed by all of her relief and happiness as she fell on her knees and covered her face with her hands as she began to sob.

When she cried, all six of her friends gathered around her and got into a big group hug. "Thank you... all of you." Frisk said through sobs and snivels. "...Thank you for being with me through it all..."

"We won't leave you, Frisk." Asgore said reassuringly. "...We know that you would never leave us if you were given the chance to... so we won't either."

Frisk felt so relieved. Even after they had learned how much she had hurt them in the past, they were still willing to keep her as their friend. Those sins that were in her past that Chara had taken away from here were far behind her now.

"...Alright, let's delay the holding hands and kissing for later." Sans said as he broke away from the hug. "Let's get going. We got a demon to beat down."

All of them broke out of the group hug and got everything from their camp packed up. All of them decided to keep moving and worry about eating breakfast later, after they had finished their battle with Chara. They were getting closer, now. They knew there was no turning back at this point. They were in for the fight of their lives.


	15. The Final Stretch

Chapter 15

The Final Stretch

The rest of the way to the destination of Frisk and her friends was dead quiet. Nobody dared to say a word as they continued to walk the path that Alphys with her device led them through. It was so quiet between all of them that the slightest pebble being thrown to the ground could have been heard by any of them.

They all knew what was at stake with this fight. If they lost, or if they made a single mistake, then everyone, humanity and monsters alike... they could all kiss everything they've worked so hard to establish in all their lives... they could kiss that all goodbye. If Chara got Frisk's soul and succeeded, then he would destroy all of humanity, and more than likely all of the monsters along with them. If they lost...

Well... they were determined to not lose that fight. They weren't going to let Chara win.

Eventually, after what seemed like hours of walking, they arrived at a 7 story building that stood fairly tall, though looked relatively abandoned. The place had several holes in the windows and looked rather dirty and worn on the outside, with the only exception of the cracked windows being the second story of the building. It certainly didn't look like somewhere that somebody would be able to live very comfortably... but then again, Chara wasn't necessarily 'living', and nobody seemed to be passing by aside from them.

Alphys looked at her device one more time to check for any more paths shown by device, but there were none at all. It showed that they were standing right at where the trail of Neptune's Hound's DNA ended. "...This is the place." Alphys said with a nod as she looked up at the building.

"Well, I suppose it's certainly a place we wouldn't have thought about looking..." Papyrus said as he looked up. "...Though I will say, this Chara fellow certainly needs to give the outside of this building a bit of a repainting."

"Yes... and it's certainly quiet here..." Undyne said as she slowly drew her sword out and held it in both hands, keeping her eyes alertly scanning the area around them for any traces of a foe. She was cladded in her entire suit of armor, all except for her helmet. "...Too quiet..."

"...Are we sure this is the right place for sure?" Asgore questioned. "...It... almost seems a bit too quiet for anybody to be here."

"...I would imagine that's the whole point of Chara picking this place." Sans said. "...We can assume that he's not an idiot... no, wait... scratch that. He's an idiot, yes, but I'm sure even he could have figured out that it would be better to set up somewhere where nobody would expect him to be."

Frisk was quietly looking at a big sign that was worn and faded. She was barely able to make out what the sign said, as it all appeared to be faded away or somehow torn up a bit. There was a design on the sign in horrible condition, but what little of it was tangible, Frisk could identify as being a picture having to do with a brown bear and a slice of pizza. She tried to make out any writing on the sign, but the only letters that could be made out in the garble of a sign was two capital F's and one lowercase z.

"...We're in the right place, alright." Undyne said as she looked at the door slowly opening. Standing there with a smirk on his face was Hothead, standing with his hands tucked away in the pockets of his jeans and now wearing a darker green shirt. Despite the smirk on his face, his eyes held a bit of resentment as he laid eyes on the group, obviously not at all enthused in seeing them again.

"...It took you long enough to show up." Hothead said as he walked up to them. "...Your timing certainly is impeccable... I was starting to wonder if you were ever going to show up."

"Listen here, punk..." Undyne started. "...Hothead... we're not here to fight you... our business here is with Chara, and we'd rather not hurt anybody else in the process... well... I mean, I'm still pissed at you about our battle last time... but other than that... we don't want any more fights than what's necessary... so do yourself a favor, and back off before someone gets hurt."

"...Is that a fact?" Hothead questioned. His smirk had faded and he brought his arms to his sides. His fist began to shake and his hair began to heat up and glow brighter. "...You know, Chara was not at all happy that you gave me that fake device..." He gave a little growl and his hands began to ignite. "Mhm. Gave me a good verbal whoopin'. That's what he did... and ever since then... I've been wanting to have this moment for a long time... where I could have my revenge."

He stepped up close to Undyne, the two's faces just inches away from each other as they stared each other down. "...Believe me, fish face... if I were given the opportunity... I would finish what I started right here, right now..." he said. "...Just looking at you again... I'd love nothing more than to chop you into seven bloody pieces, and ship one to every continent."

Undyne remained quiet as Hothead and her stared at each other. She had no fear or uncontrollable anger in her eyes, but she had her hand holding the hilt of her sword, just in case Hothead tried something. All the other monsters and Frisk watched quietly, their breathing almost completely stopped as they waited to see what happened next.

"..." Hothead gave a sigh and a shake of his head as he got out of Undyne's face, his hair cooled back down, and the flames on his hands were immediately extinguished, leaving trails of black smoke rising from his hands. "...Unfortunately for me, however, Chara has given me other orders... I'm not allowed to fight you, or even lay so much as a single drop of poison on either of you."

"...That's unfortunate for you, hm?" Undyne questioned as she crossed her arms. "...Kind of a shame for me. You only won our last contest because I wasn't focused... I think you'd be more happy that you don't have to get your ass handed to you by me."

"...Oh... don't worry." Hothead said as he stood. "...After Chara is done with all of you, I'll make sure he keeps you and your girlfriend alive... you, so I can finish what I started and destroy you in a fight... and your girlfriend, so I can have you watch me rip every fabric of skin off her body."

"Well... after we're done with Chara, and both humanity and monster-kind are saved... I'll gladly take you on in a rematch anytime, anywhere." Undyne said. "After all... I was never one to quit... and I won't let our last battle be our very last."

"...We'll just see which of our visions is right then." Hothead said as he stood and looked at the door. "...Follow me... I'll lead you to him."

Hothead began walking towards the door, the other seven hesitated as they all looked at Undyne. "...Oi. What are you all waiting for? Fourth of July? Let's go!" Hothead said. "I've got anger management class two hours from now, and I can't go until this fight of yours is over."

"...How do we know that this isn't some trap?" Alphys questioned as she looked up at Undyne.

"...That's the thing, Alphys... we don't know." Undyne said with a sigh. She released the hilt of her sword and began to walk up to the door.

"Hmph... about time." Hothead said as he gestured the others to come along. Reluctantly, all the others followed. All of Frisk's friends had entered, and Frisk was about to go in herself, but she was sopped by Hothead putting his hand on her shoulder.

"...Yo... Chara's brother in there told me that you, he and Chara had a conversation last night." Hothead said quietly. "...Is it true what he told me?... 'Bout your parents, I mean."

Frisk gave a little shudder. She had no idea why Hothead would want to know. "...Those humans... they aren't my mother and father... at least they're not anymore." Frisk said. "...But yes... what he said was true..."

"So... the beating? The paddling? The rubbing salt on your wounds and breaking of glass-"

"Yes, it's all true, alright?" Frisk said impatiently. "Now will you knock it off? I don't want to think about it anymore."

"Oh... eh, that's gotta be rough." Hothead said with a little nod. "...Though it does beg the question. From what Chara's brother told me, Chara had something fairly similar to that... I'm having a hard time figuring it out... why exactly are you fighting against Chara? You've been in the same situations he was in... and yet you're not at all reacting to it in the same way he did."

"...I learned something that Chara has yet to learn." Frisk said as she looked at Hothead. "...That's why I'm here... I'm not here to fight Chara, or to save the world... I'm here to save Chara... and help him see that what he's doing is wrong."

Hothead hesitated for a few seconds before giving a nod and kneeling on one knee as he looked at her. "...You know, kid... I've been really thinking a whole lot about this... I'm... starting to have some difficulty seeing either side of this now." Hothead said as he gave a shrug. "You know... it was so easy at first... just follow all orders I'm given and leave it at that, no questions asked..."

"But...?" Frisk questioned as she looked at him. "...What exactly are you trying to tell me?"

"Just hear me out on all this." Hothead said. "...Anyway, as I was saying... I've been thinking about it overnight... and yes, I can think, so don't make any jokes about my brain being fried or anything like that... but I began to look at all my options. What good would it do me if Chara wins?... What good would it do me if Chara loses?... Will I be needed at all if he wins?... Will I be needed at all if he loses?"

"...Are you telling me that... you don't want Chara to win?" Frisk questioned.

"...In all honesty, I don't know what I want to happen anymore... I don't know if I want Chara to succeed in killing you and taking your soul... and I don't know if I want you to beat Chara... or save him... or kill him, or do whatever you plan to do with him... but what I do know is that I had been doing just nothing but following the orders I've been given by Chara in the one day of my being... and... I don't even know what I want to happen anymore."

"...I still don't get it." Frisk said. "...Why are you telling me all this?... What does it have to do with what's going to happen next?"

"...I don't know." Hothead said honestly. "...That's the whole point... I don't know what to think anymore... I mean, Hell. Helping out a demon wipe everybody off the face of the earth?... He always said that sometimes to do some good, you gotta be the bad guy, but still... that's quite a lot of destruction that I gotta help him out with... and would it really be worth it?..."

"...You know... you don't seem to be that bad of a guy." Frisk said as she looked at him. "...You know... you've got some anger problems, and you can act a little annoying at times, at least from what I've seen... but other than that... you're not that different from me."

"...Not that different from you?" Hothead questioned and looked at her. "...What do you mean? Do you have the ability to shoot balls of poisonous energy from your hands?... Can you fire lightning out of your hands just by clapping them?... Do you got a body like mine, packing all these sexy muscles that make all the ladies want to-"

"Alright, stop. Stop it right now." Frisk interrupted, making Hothead stop. "You're getting way in over your head... anyway... no... I don't have any of those things... but just like me, and all my friends and family, you have a mind... and you have a heart... all monsters have those... all humans have those... and Chara has those too... they're buried underneath his blind hatred that was brought up by his family... but I believe that once he feels and remembers the love of having a family that cares for him and friends that would go through anything to help him, then he'll be just as good of a person as I can be."

Hothead stared at her as he heard that. He couldn't deny that somehow, he felt a little bit of inspiration from the girl. "...That's what I think, Hothead." Frisk said with a nod. "That's what I'm taking with me into this fight."

"...Strangely enough, I'm somewhat touched." Hothead said as he stood up. "You've definitely given me some things to think about, kid... if I weren't supposed to be your enemy at this moment, I'd probably hug you or something."

"Yo, lazybones." Sans said from inside. "You gonna scold us for taking our time and then keep us all waiting? Let's go."

"Alright, alright." Hothead said as he looked at Frisk. "Sorry for the hold up... it was good talking to you... uh... Chris, was it?"

"...No. Not even close." Frisk said with a shake of her head. "It's Frisk."

"Oh... right... good talking with you, Frisk."

Frisk nodded silently and followed Hothead inside. Nobody said much else after that. They walked towards the stairs of the old and dusty first floor, which only had a few desks here and there, and some cobwebs with spiders crawling around them.

Hothead stopped in front of the stairs and everybody else did as well. Hothead looked up quietly at the steps as a figure walked down the stairs. It looked exactly like Windeol, the one humanoid being created by Chara that saved him during his fight with Sans, except it was cladded in purple instead of teal, and its eyes glowed a dangerous red. Its staff had a purple cloud of darkness on the top and purple dark sparkles that came from it.

"...It's quite a pleasure to be able to meet all of you and your friends close up here and now, Frisk." the being said. Its voice was more calm and collected than anything else, and the being seemed to speak with a bit of a refined intelligence. "My name is Darkeol... you've met one of my brethren before me, if I remember correctly."

"Yes... we met someone exactly like you." Papyrus said. "...And he messed up my house! He blew over all Sans and I's stuff, and he almost blew our whole house down!"

"...That's... not necessarily my problem." Drakeol said with a blink. "...I usually don't really hear complaints like that... so... I'm just going to pretend you didn't say that, and move on with what I'm here to do."

"...And what would that be?" Toriel questioned as she held Frisk's hand protectively.

"...You're about to be in the greatest fight of your life." Darkeol said and looked at Frisk. "...You must realize what's all at stake here... if you win this battle against Chara, then everything that he looked forward to... everything that he genuinely felt was right will be all for nothing... and if you lose... you risk not only losing your soul and the battle, but also the fate of all of humanity... and perhaps even monster kind as well."

"...A battle for ideas." Frisk said. "...Yes... I understand what's all at stake... I understand what will happen if I mess up..."

"Then you must also understand what exactly you're up against." Darkeol said and looked up the stairs. "Beyond me, up these stairs, lies not just any normal human or monster, or whatever Chara is at this point. You'll be facing off against a hatred so incomprehensibly powerful that it changed a young innocent boy into a ruthless killer with a desire for genocide... you must know that there's very little hope for what you would seek to do... so why do you continue to go on?"

"We go on because we can't sit down and let Chara go along with his plan of destruction." Asgore said. "...All of humanity and the fate of all monsters rests on our shoulders... and we're not going to give up, no matter what."

"...Ok... but that's not what I was referring to." Darkeol said and glanced back to Frisk.

"...Wh-what do you mean?" Alphys questioned. "A... Asgore a-answered your question."

"He answered a question... he didn't answer what I was referring to." He then glanced at Frisk and the two of them stared deep into each other's eyes. "...You have every right to hate Chara, you realize that? We're talking about a being who tricked you, made you kill hundreds upon hundreds of monsters, and even forced you to barter your soul to make everything right... any other person would most certainly carry a strong hatred and want to destroy Chara... but yet you would believe that you could 'save' him, and turn this hatred of his around?"

Frisk gave a hesitant nod. "Nobody in the world is ever impossible to change." Frisk said.

"What of your parents?" Darkeol questioned. "Would you still try to save them if they were in this situation instead of Chara?"

Frisk remained quiet for a few seconds as she looked down, quietly thinking about what to say. She really had to think about how to answer that. Her biological parents had caused her so much pain as a child, doing things to her that no living human should ever have to experience, much less a child. If it were anybody else, literally anybody else, then she would gladly try to save them without a second thought about it... but that man and that woman...

"...You can't answer that..." Darkeol said as he looked deeper into her eyes. "...Hmmm... peculiar... you're like a diary with a key and lock... unlike all other books, until you yourself open it... I can't read into you..."

All of Frisk's friends stared quietly, not making a sound as they waited for something to happen, though Frisk and Darkeol seemed to be doing nothing that would cause any raise of alarm. Papyrus began to slowly raise a bone he had in his hand, just in case he needed to protect Frisk, but Sans put his hand on Papyrus's hand and gently moved it back down. "...I don't think he's going to do anything to her." the older skeleton said.

"...If you told me that even the worst people can change, but you aren't sure whether or not you'd want to give that chance to your parents if you could... but yet you're willing to give it to Chara... that tells me that there's another reason that you're trying to 'save' him." Darkeol said. "...So then... now that that's established... I'll ask you one more time... you have every right to hate Chara, but yet you believe you can save him... why?"

"...Because..." Frisk was finding it difficult to find an answer to what Darkeol was asking. He was really digging deep to try and get an answer from Frisk. Even she was beginning to wonder and question about why she was doing this.

"...You don't have an answer at the time..." Darkeol said with an understanding nod. "...It's ok... I can well imagine that this must be a very tough answer for you to make... but you now have a very limited time to come up with what you are fighting for... and why you want to change Chara... are you doing it simply to stop him without killing him?... Do you just think you have to do it, because a friend of yours asked you to do so?... Or is there another reason... deeper inside you that even you aren't really sure of?..."

"...Who's side are you on?" Undyne questioned. "...You make it sound like you don't even want Chara to win."

"I have no desires of my own." Darkeol said. "It's all just a passing event for me... I don't really care who wins... I don't really care who loses, and what the price is for it... I don't really care whether or not Chara should reward me for following orders, nor do I mind if he's mad at me if I should ever mess up, which hasn't even happened before."

"If that's the case, then why do you follow Chara?" Toriel questioned. "If you really don't care what happens whether or not Chara succeeds, then why do you listen to him and try to help push his plans further?"

"...Do you ask an earthquake as to why it strikes parts of the world constantly, but leaves other parts untouched?... Do you question why a hurricane goes one direction or travels to one city or town, and leaves many others untouched?" Darkeol questioned. "...The earthquake and the hurricane don't have any desires of destruction, but they also don't care who all they destroy... they don't choose when they appear, nor do they choose how long they last or how far they go... they simply do what they do because they are commanded of it by nature... I do what I do because it's what I was created to do under Chara."

"...Um... could you go by that again... you know... without the whole poetic thing." Papyrus said as he scratched his head. "You're giving me a headache trying to follow what all you're saying."

Darkeol gave a sigh. "...I follow Chara because that's all I am... I'm but a creation bound to serve him whenever he should command me." He then glanced at Frisk. "...I would hope that you would have a better reason to be fighting Chara then my reason to fight along side him... after all... this is a fight between ideals and beliefs... if your only reason for trying to save Chara is because you feel that you have to do it... that won't suffice."

"...What am I supposed to think?" Frisk questioned as she looked up at Darkeol. "...I want to save Chara... I want to help him, but... what am I supposed to say my reason is?..."

"I'm afraid I can't help you with that." Darkeol said. "...You're a very brave and smart child, Frisk... you have knowledge and courage far beyond any other of your age... if you can't find the answer to that question... then nobody else can."

"...I understand." Frisk said with a nod. "...I think I'm ready... to face Chara now..."

"...So be it." Darkeol said as he stood and gestured them to follow him. Frisk followed him without a single second of hesitation, while her friends took a couple of seconds before they followed along. They wanted to help Frisk in any way they could.

They came to the door that led to the second floor, and Darkeol stopped as he went in front of the door. Frisk and her friends stopped there and quietly waited. "...Beyond this door, my creator is waiting for you... your journey finally ends here, at the final frontier." Darkeol said. "...Once you go past this door, I will seal the door shut so that until the fight is complete... nobody will be able to enter or exit."

"...So then we only have one chance at this." Undyne said as she looked at all the others. "...If we mess up here and now... there won't be a chance to make things right."

"...We won't mess up." Toriel said. "As long as all of us work together and have each other's backs-"

"Mom..." Frisk said and looked up to her. "...Thank you... for everything you've given me... I'll always love you and consider you my mother... but... once I enter that room... I know that you won't be able to fight this battle for me."

"...My child..."

"...I've been running away and leaving my friends to fight this fight for too long now..." Frisk said with a tightening of her fist. "...I could probably use all the moral support and cheering on you could provide... but this is my battle... and I have to be the one to fight it..."

"...No matter what happens Frisk, we're here for you." Asgore said. "...We're not going to let you go through with this on your own."

"...Somehow... I feel like you won't have much option." Frisk admitted and looked back to Darkeol. She had a very strong feeling that Chara wasn't going to let anybody interfere with their battle... both him and Frisk herself knew that they had to settle this just how they started it all... just her and him.

"...Listen... child... once you and your friends go through this door, there will be no turning back." Darkeol said and looked at all of them. "...If... you have any business left undone, or something you need to take care of, just in case you won't live to do it another day... I would advise that you do it now, while you still have the chance."

"...Does anybody have anything else they need to do?" Sans said and glanced around at everybody.

"...I don't think so." Frisk said as she looked at Darkeol. "...We're ready now."

"...So be it." Drakeol said and opened the door. "Go now... whatever you seek to accomplish in your fight against Chara, let it be your guide and your strength... keep a strong heart and a stable mind... and you might just survive... emphasis on might."

Frisk and her friends entered quietly. As soon as they all were past the door, Darkeol closed it behind them and pointed his staff at the door, letting it glow dark purple as he had sealed it shut with his power.

"...Good luck, kid... you're going to need every bit of it." Darkeol said as he closed his eyes and remained quiet out the door, awaiting to learn the result of the battle.


	16. Rise of a True Demon

Chapter 16

Rise of a True Demon

Frisk really wasn't sure what she was expecting when she entered the room. Sure, she knew she couldn't expect to have some room of boiling magma, or completely dark and foggy place, but even so, part of her was expecting some kind of eerie and evil background for a fight against an embodiment of hatred and vengeance.

The room, however, was actually quite nice looking, almost inviting. Unlike the first floor of the building and the outside of the building, the second floor seemed to be completely refurbished, having furniture like an actual house. A couch, a couple chairs, a fridge and a freezer, a few lamps, even TVs and game systems... it was almost as if Chara had invited them over for a hang out rather than a battle.

They didn't have to look very long to catch sight of Chara. He was silently standing at a window that allowed the sunshine of the outside to enter into the house, staring at the outside. He wore a black button up shirt that was left unbuttoned for a more casual look, as well as a pair of black dress pants and a pair of black shoes. He looked more like he was going to be going off to a business meeting than get into a fight to the death.

Toriel remained quiet and her eyes remained careful, but her hands were shaking at the sight of her adopted son standing there. Even after she heard it from Asgore... even after she and all of Frisk's friends mutually agreed that Chara was the one they were looking for, she wanted to believe that they were mistaken... that her son hadn't become what they said he had... and now here he stood in front of them; her own son and the one that caused all the mischief that happened these past couple of days.

Chara didn't seem to pay any heed to the seven just yet. He stood at the window, staring outside as he brought up to his face a bar of Mounds Chocolate that he was holding in his hand and took a bite of the candy bar, chewing the dark chocolate and shredded coconut very slowly, taking some time to savor the the chocolate before finally swallowing it. He was about to take another bite, but stopped as he looked at the window. He stayed still for about seven seconds before putting the candy bar back in the wrapper and twisting it a bit to keep it shut, putting it to the side.

"...So... you're finally here." Chara said as he looked at the reflections of his seven 'guests' that he saw from the glass of the window. "...I was half hoping for you all to arrive a bit later... I didn't want to squander the beautiful day outside having to fight."

"...Is that so?" Frisk asked as she continued to stare at Chara.

"...It's a beautiful day outside... don't you all agree?" Chara questioned without turning to face them. "...What more could be asked for at a moment like this?... The sun is out... the temperature is warm... the birds are chirping... and not a cloud in the sky as far as the eye can see... if you ask me... it's such a pity that one of us needs to die on such a beautiful day."

The others said nothing as Chara turned around and finally faced them, allowing them to see his red eyes, his rosy cheeks that stood out from the rest of his pale face, and a purple shirt with a Pokéball print worn under his unbuttoned button-up shirt. "On days like these... there are so many things you can do outside, isn't there? Go for a walk, take a swim, play a game of baseball... I would say that it was a perfect day for hide n' seek... but you've already heard that before from my father."

"...Yes... I have." Frisk said as she kept her guard up. Chara didn't seem like he was planning anything at the moment, but Frisk had learned to not assume anything from Chara. He was just as dangerous doing nothing as he was attacking.

"...Ah. Where are my manners?" Chara said with a little snap of his fingers and shaking his head. "You are 'guests' here... may I get any of you anything? Something to eat, drink, read or play?"

"...Do you have any spaghetti?" Papyrus questioned.

"Papyrus!" Undyne whispered to him. "What the fuck?! Don't ask him for anything!"

"But he's offering, Miss Undyne... I mean, if he's willing to get it for me..."

"You know, bro... your optimism is really going to get you into trouble, one day." Sans said with a shake of his head.

"...Chara... you know why we're here." Asgore said.

"...Right..." Chara said with a nod. "...I was hoping that I could put it off for a little while longer... but I suppose you're all here for a reason... and it wouldn't be fair to any of you if I had kept you all here longer than you have to be here."

"...Why?" Toriel questioned as she looked at Chara, her heart feeling as if it were being pressed by a huge boulder. "...I don't understand... we... we raised you... we loved you as if you were... no... you really were our son..." She looked at him with tears in her eyes. "...Why?... Why are you doing this?..."

"...Isn't the answer obvious, Mother?" Chara questioned and gave a sigh and looked down. "Do you think that I could have so easily let go of the past like it had never happened? After being tortured by my family and driven to attempt suicide... you expect me to just be able to forget what all my parents did to me?"

"Chara... we are your parents." Asgore said as he stepped forward a little bit and held his hand out gently. "...My son... we are your parents, and we always will be... no matter what happened to you in the past, or what you do now... we'll always be your parents... just please... let go of all this... and come back..."

"...Do you think that you'll be so easily accepted by those humans?" Chara questioned and looked up at all of them. "All of you answer me this, and think very carefully before you do... do you really think that the humans will be able to tolerate any of you? Slavery, war, murder, rape... that's what humankind does to its own kind... if they can't even get along with their own kind, you can't seriously expect them to be able to tolerate any of you."

"Th-this isn't a-about being accepted or not... w-we know that it'll take a while t-to be fully accepted by the humans... b-but that's not what this is about... i-it's about doing what's r-right for both humans and monsters alike." Alphys said.

"Doing what's right? You think what I'm doing is wrong?" Chara questioned with a raise of his eyebrow. "... _When the LORD saw how great was man's wickedness on earth, and how no desire that his heart conceived was ever anything but evil, he regretted that he made man on the earth, and His heart was grieved. So the LORD said: "I will wipe out from the earth the men whom I have created, and not only men, but also the beasts and the creeping things and the birds of the air, for I am sorry that I made them..._ Genesis 6:5-7."

Chara gave a hum and looked at the window once again, staring at the outside. "...The Christians, Jews and Muslims declare that there's one God up there... an all loving and omnibenevolent God... and yet according to their Torah, the wickedness of humanity was so unbearably great that even their 'omnibenevolent Father' would have killed all humans on the earth... now, at least in my mind, if even the kindest of beings would kill all humans if they could, that's not good news for them."

"But He didn't destroy the humans." Frisk said. "He didn't destroy all of the humans because there were a few among them that were willing to do good... there are people in this world that are good people... you can't just generalize all because of the experiences that you've had."

"My mind is set, Frisk... I'm not going to sway away from my views so easily... besides... you're not here to lecture me." Chara said and turned around. "...You're here for us to finish what I started... to decide which of us rises... and which one of us falls to the ground."

"Chara... you can't do this..." Toriel said. "...Don't you understand how many innocent people you're going to be hurting by doing this?... What would your brother say if he could see you now?"

"My brother... hmmm... my brother... oh, that's right." Chara said with a snap of his fingers. "Thanks for reminding me, Mother... I knew there was something that I was forgetting." Without any warning, he walked into another room quietly, closing the door behind him.

"...What do you think he's doing in there?" Papyrus questioned.

"I don't know... but whatever it is... I don't like it." Undyne said as she stared quietly, waiting for Chara to come back out.

In a mere matter of seconds, Chara opened the door and walked out, but didn't have anything in his hands. "...You want to know what my brother would say if he could see me now?" Chara questioned. "...Why don't you go ahead and ask him?"

Chara looked over his shoulder behind him and gave a little nod before looking straight back at the others and stepping to the side. When Toriel and Asgore both saw who was behind Chara, both of their hearts skipped about five or six beats, and both of their shocked gasps could have sucked all of the oxygen out of the room if they were any stronger.

Nobody but Frisk could really believe their eyes. Though there may have been one or two among them that had never met the boy before, everyone already knew who it was. There was not any doubt in anybody's mind about the identity of the boy, as he stood there, looking exactly like a younger version of Asgore and Toriel.

"...A... Asriel..." Asgore said in complete shock. Toriel just stared and put both of her hands over her mouth. Both she and Asgore felt like fainting then and there. Their hearts were drumming like Hell in disbelief.

"...Mom... Dad..." Asriel said softly as he looked at them.

"Asriel... our... our baby boy..." Toriel said as she couldn't help but feel herself tear up. This was all too much. Not only was Chara alive again after all these years... but Asriel was alive again as well. Just when they thought that their sons were gone for good... in a matter of days, there they were again, standing before them as if none of their deaths had ever happened.

"...You didn't think that I could have possibly forgotten my precious brother... did you?" Chara questioned and looked at Asriel. "...He's been the only one in my whole life that's ever been able to understand me..."

"...I didn't want to make things harder on you than they had to be." Frisk said as she looked at them. "...I learned that Asriel was alive again with Chara the dream that I had that he explained everything to me... I didn't want to tell you because I didn't know how you would react."

"...You told them the truth... and yet they continue to stand by your side here and now?" Chara questioned with a curious raise of his eyebrow. "...Hmmm... interesting... I'm sure that there wouldn't be any humans that would have stayed by your side if they knew the truth."

"...Maybe not many... but there would be a few that would stay with me if they knew the truth." Frisk said as she stood and pulled out a stick and held it in her right hand. "Now come on... are we going to fight, or are we going to stand around talking all day?"

"...A stick?..." Chara said before laughing for a couple of seconds. "Hahahahahahahahah! Ohohoho! Oh that's simply rich. You're coming up against me, Chara, a demon with powers beyond your wildest dreams, and the weapon that you're going to try to use to defeat me is a STICK?!" He began to laugh again.

"Maybe she doesn't need anything more to kick your ass." Undyne said with a smirk and a cross of her arms. "Frisk is going to beat the living Hell out of you with just that stick."

"Oh... is that so?" Chara questioned. "Oh no. I'm going to get my ass handed to me by a little twig! Oh, I must have absolutely no hopes of winning! Whatever am I going to do?... Oh wait, I know." He then looked at Asriel after his little sarcastic monologue. "Asriel... the other five Souls. Get them for me, would you?"

"Chara, please reconsider." Asriel pleaded to him. "Taking all 6 of the Souls at a time is way too dangerous. If you try to take in all of them and fight Frisk-"

"I don't have any other choice, Asriel." Chara interrupted. "I promised Frisk that I wasn't going to hold anything back during our fight. I have to use every last bit of strength that I can use here, no matter what the risks are... now get the Souls for me."

"Chara..." Asriel whispered softly and gave a sad sigh as he went over to a container and opened it.

The eyes of everyone widened as Chara opened the palm of his right hand, and the yellow Human Soul of Justice slowly floated out of his hand and began to circle around him. Their shock only increased as they saw from the container float the light blue, orange, blue, purple and green Human Souls as they also fell in to the circle that the Human Soul of Justice floated around and began to circle around Chara as well.

"...Hmhmhmhmhmhmhmhm... finally... the six Human Souls to come together with my own..." Chara said as he watched with fascination as the souls continued to float around him. He then gave a smirk to Frisk. "...And soon... your soul is going to be among them."

"Th-th-the Souls!" Alphys said as she took a step back, her entire body trembling. "H-h-h-h-he's got the Human Souls!"

"As I told you, Frisk... I wasn't going to be holding anything back." Chara said. "While you all were taking your sweet time to arrive... with the help of Darkeol, Oceaol, Flameol, Thundeol, Eartheol and Windeol, I was able to get my hands on all six of these babies... and I took some time last night and early this morning to make sure that I got some training to be able to control these fairly well."

Frisk gave a nervous step back and tightened the grip of her stick. She thought it was going to be bad enough going up against Chara when all she had was a stick, and he could go along and have a knife for all she knew... but this... this changed absolutely everything.

Chara gave a smirk and watched as there appeared in the room five beings that looked like Darkeol, only with different staffs and colors of clothes and eyes. Oceaol was a blue one with green eyes, his staff having the power of water. Flameol was a scarlet one with orange eyes, his staff having the power of fire. Thundeol was a yellow one with blue eyes, his staff having the power of lightning. Eartheol was a green one with brown eyes, his staff having the power of the earth. The fifth one was the familiar teal being among them, Windeol.

"It's almost really pitiful, isn't it, Frisk?... You came all this way just to stop me... only to now learn that you never had a chance."

"Chara, you can't do this!" Asgore said.

"Why not? You wanted to do this for the exact same reason, didn't you? Take all the souls, become godlike and free all the monsters, and destroy all of humanity. You could do it at one time, so why can't I?"

"Chara, please listen to him." Asriel pleaded. "It's too dangerous. If you take the souls in now, and you can't control them-"

"I've had time to practice this, Asriel. I can't back off on my plan." he said. "...Now stay back." Asriel, knowing there was nothing he could do to change Chara's mind, took a few steps back.

"...It's time now..." Chara said and held his arms out. From his chest slowly floated out his soul, which was heart shaped just like all the others. There were only a few visible parts of the natural red it had, because almost all of it was covered by the black gunk of his hatred and his malice. Hatred had almost completely consumed Chara's soul, but by the few red parts that were still visible, Frisk knew there was still some hope, albeit very small.

"...The Light Blue Soul of Patience... the Orange Soul of Bravery... the Blue Soul of Integrity... the Purple Soul of Perseverance... the Green Soul of Kindness... and the Yellow Soul of Justice..." Chara said as the souls began to slowly approach the black coated heart that represented Chara's soul. "...Come together with my black soul... we shall become a being of absolute power and vengeance... our enemies shall cry out in despair and pray for mercy... and we shall become the bringer of Armageddon... the agent of Judgment Day... and the Lord of Genocide."

With that, the six Human Souls entered Chara's body, and Chara's own soul reentered his body. He began to groan as electricity of each color of the souls was zapping around his body. The power of seven souls inside him like this was almost overwhelming... but he had been practicing for this very moment. As he continued to zap and groan, his entire body became a dark silhouette as it was starting to change.

"Oh no..." Asriel said quietly as he backed up a bit more. "This... this can't be happening..."

Frisk remained quiet as all she and her friends could do was watch helplessly as Chara continued to transform. On his head, what appeared to be horns began to form on the sides of his head, right above his ears, and his body was starting to become bigger. Right at his tailbone, what appeared to be a tail of some sort was also being formed. It seemed his body was making drastic changes to itself, if nothing to be able to better handle the amount of power Chara now had at his disposal.

As the transformation had ended and Chara's color came back, he looked nothing like he did before he took the souls inside him. He now stood as what appeared to be an adult of about Asgore's height, with two red horns sprouted from his head. His hair had become very long and a silvery platinum color, while his skin was literally white as snow to match up with it. The rosy blush on his cheeks was gone. He also had a long white tail like that of a monkey that swayed around to get used to its form.

Chara's body also took on a bit more of a feminine appearance in some lights. His thighs had become a little thicker, and the build of his stomach and chest seemed to have decreased in masculine appearance. However, to compensate for that, his shoulders had become very broad, and his arms, though not very muscular, appeared very strong, like they could rip through the hardest material in a matter of minutes. His legs also appeared to be strong, like a single kick of them could send the Empire State Building crumbling down. It was almost as if Frisk was looking at a more demonic version of Metatton EX; she was having trouble figuring out which gender Chara was trying to look like.

"...Hmmmm... this feels quite nice." Chara said with his eyes closed. His new voice sounded like that of an adult woman, but also had a demonic growl layered into it. He opened his eyes, showing a pair of eyes that were completely pitch black, save for vertical linear red pupils that looked like the eyes of a demonic snake. "...What do you think of my new look?... Impressive, isn't it?"

Frisk didn't make any reply. Her arm was beginning to tremble. She remembered a fight exactly like this against Asriel when she was to decide whether or not the barrier would be shattered and all the monsters freed from the Underground... but somehow, this was different. The dark sense that Chara gave from just standing there was enough to make the brightest of stars blacken and dim in despair.

"...Too shocked for words, I see." Chara said with a little giggle as he did a little twirl and a bow, as if he was in some kind of ballet. "We'll see what good your determination does against me now... it ends right here, Frisk. Today, you'll have the privilege of becoming the child that bravely stood against me... and died in a valiant attempt to save the world."

"No! You stay away from her!" Undyne shouted as she pulled her sword out and began to charge to help Frisk.

The elemental creatures that were under Darkeol immediately reacted as they jumped swiftly in a large circle around Frisk and Chara and pointed their staffs towards the two as the center. "Do not interfere!" all five of them said in complete synch.

Undyne eventually bumped into a forcefield that seemed invisible as it sent her sprawling to the ground. "Undyne!" Alphys yelped as she ran over to her to see if she was ok.

"Don't worry about me. I'm fine." Undyne said as she got up and looked at what she had ran into. The five creations of Chara had just created a forcefield around Frisk and Chara so that nobody could interfere with their fight. The forcefield was now visible and was made by some impossible yet somehow very stable combination of water, fire, electricity, earth and wind.

Sans gave a growl and held his hand towards the forcefield, his left eye glowing yellow and blue as he tried to stretch his powers beyond the forcefield to summon a field of bones or a few dragon skulls to attack Chara and help Frisk. He strained and he tried to pry his power past the forcefield, but for some reason, he couldn't do it. Somehow, the power that those five beings had put together was so strong that not even Sans with all his strength could get anything past it.

Undyne gave a growl as she began to ram herself into the forcefield to break past it, but it was no use. The barrier was steadfast and wouldn't be breaking by force. "Put this barrier down!" Undyne shouted as she continued to ram herself at it.

"You will not interfere." all five of the creations said in complete synch. "This fight will be only between Frisk and Chara."

Chara gave a hum and watched as Sans and Undyne both continued to try to get past the barrier somehow to no avail. "...There. Now we're free to play our little game all by ourselves... you and me..." Chara turned to her and gave a smirk. "...Just like old times, huh?"

Frisk remained quiet and the grip of her stick tightened in her trembling hand. "...Hm? You don't seem to be completely terrified." Chara said. "...You still have some valor in you, even in this bleak situation?"

"I don't know... right now I'm just trying to figure out what exactly I should call you." Frisk said. "I don't think your anywhere close to being a demon... and you're obviously something different than a human..." She gave a little defiant smirk. "I was thinking about calling you a monster, but I decided that would be an insult to my family and friends here now."

"Hmhmhmhm... well, at least you'll keep your sense of humor throughout this fight." Chara said with a smirk. "That's good... very good."

"Yes... I'm not going to lie to you Chara... I would rather that we not fight... that we solve this dispute some other way... but if I absolutely have no other choice, then I don't care how strong you are... I'm going to fight until the bitter end."

"...Well then... allow me to make it clear for you." Chara said as he held his hand in front of his face. At this point, Undyne and Sans both stopped and watched helplessly along with all the others as in Chara's right hand began to form a very large sword, with the blade very big and heavy looking. The sword was brown and looking like rock at the top, with 'veins' of red, while the bottom blade part was grey and looking incredible sharp. The most disturbing detail, however, was that inches above where the handle met the sword, there was an organic yellow eye that stared at Frisk as Chara held it up.

After a few seconds and a split second of the eye of the sword widening as it continued to stare at Frisk, Chara brought the sword down to the ground and held it behind him, the sword seeming to be so heavy that Chara had to hold it close to the ground with one hand. "...You don't have any other choice."

Chara held his left hand up and let a cloud appear above it that had a vision of the sky with a big black star up in it. "You see the black star?... When the star hits the ground outside... that will be our signal to start fighting."

"Sounds good enough to me." Frisk said as she gave a sigh to banish all the fear and nervousness out of her. "...By the way... before we fight... how many monsters did you make me kill the first time?"

"Hmmm... let's see..." Chara began to mentally count all they killed. "...I think just below a hundred... give or take a few... I want to say somewhere around 97 or 98."

Chara gave a nod and snapped his fingers, and the cloud showed the black star slowly descending from the sky upon the earth. All of Frisk's friends silently held their breath as they helplessly watched on, Asriel trembling in fear of what will happen. Frisk was continuing to shake, despite her attempts not to. How could she not? There was so much riding on this one battle, and she has to fight against a being that has so much power... just like her fight against Asriel, but something about this fight was different.

The seconds felt like eternities to Frisk, and those seconds she wished she had more of. She wasn't at all ready when she saw the black star crash to the ground, and heard the sound from outside.

The minute the star was seen to have hit the ground, Chara immediately moved, kicking his legs from the ground and flying at commendable speed towards Frisk, who had absolutely no time to react before Chara was right in front of her and slammed his fist right into her stomach, sending her flying into the forcefield which she slammed upon with great speed, immediately coughing up blood from the hit of Chara and the force of hitting the barrier.

"No! Frisk!" Papyrus shouted as he watched on helplessly.

Sans gave a growl and went back to trying to get some of his powers through he barrier. "Come on! Break, you fucking forcefield!" he growled, and Undyne continued to slam herself against the forcefield again to try to force herself past it.

"My child..." Toriel whispered as she was on the verge of losing her mind as tears fell from her eyes. Asgore and Alphys remained quiet, both of them silently praying for some kind of miracle or for Frisk to be able to do this.

With a weak groan, already feeling the pain coursing through her body, Frisk fell weakly to the floor, just barely catching herself with her hands and knees. She tried to get up, only to catch glimpse of Chara running in from the side and delivering a kick with unbelievable force onto Frisk's hip, causing her to go flying again. This time, instead of being slammed into the forcefield, Chara appeared right behind her and she slammed into him. She gave a yelp as she could already feel her body weakening from just those two attacks.

"Please tell me that's not all you can take." Chara mocked with a chuckle. "Surely the one that was able to save my brother and free all of the monsters trapped in the Underground can take more than that."

Frisk gave a groan and looked behind her a bit. She turned around swiftly and slammed her stick into Chara's left thigh with all her force, but the attack literally did nothing to him. "Heheheh... such a pitiful attack." Chara said as he grabbed Frisk by the head and held her in a very tight grip, causing Frisk to scream as she tried to loosen Chara's grip with her hands.

"Chara! Stop! Please!" Toriel begged from outside the forcefield. She and Asgore couldn't take this. Their own son fighting against Frisk, Toriel's adopted daughter and the one who had done so much for them... it was a fight they never wanted to see.

"It's kind of a pity, really." Chara said as he ignored Toriel and wrapped his tail around Frisk's neck tightly and began to choke her, releasing his grip on her head and now keeping her in the air with his tail choking her. "I was really looking forward to having a good fight against you... but I guess I can't really blame you... after all... how could someone that has absolutely no LOVE possibly be able to defeat the Lord of Genocide?"

Chara gave a chuckle as he grabbed his sword handle with two hands and held it up, ready to strike a finishing blow on Frisk. "Have no fear, dear child. I still care about you from our adventures together... I care about you enough to not keep this suffering going... I'll end your pain here and now... isn't that nice of me?" Chara began to laugh as he was getting ready to strike the finishing blow.

Frisk gave a groan and looked and saw that her legs could possibly kick his face if she tried hard enough. She had no other alternative option. She gave a choked growl as she brought her legs back and thrusted them forward. Her original target was Chara's nose, but she had aimed the double kick higher and more to the sides by mistake, and ended up giving Chara a good kick to his eyes.

Chara immediately stopped laughing and his grin had completely vanished after Frisk's kick. He may have been a very powerful demon now, but it seemed like even he still could feel pain. "My eyes!" he screeched as his tail moved Frisk away from his face. His tail then flung Frisk behind him, making her tumble and roll on the floor weakly while he continued to scream in pain and hold his eyes with his left hand.

Frisk groaned and tried to get up, but she couldn't. Her body was aching all over from just those few attacks. She knew that Chara was going to be strong, but she didn't know that it was going to be this impossibly difficult.

She knew when Chara was able to recover from the kick to his eyes when she heard a demonic growl and footsteps approaching her. Before she could make any reactions, she felt Chara grab her by the foot and lift her overhead before turning around and slamming her into the ground.

"Well, now you've gone and done it." Chara growled as he grabbed her by the leg again with his tail and held her upside down in front of him. His eyes seemed to have been bloodshot from the kick that Frisk had landed on them. "Now you've gone and pissed me off... now I'm going to make sure your death is as painful as I could possibly make it."

He threw her to the ground, getting a weak yelp out of her. He raised his foot into the air, which began to burn with some unholy strength and slammed it down onto Frisk's chest, causing her to scream in the purest of agony as blood was beginning to blast out of her mouth from the damage that Chara was doing to her body. Undyne and Sans were only increasing their efforts as Frisk screamed. Papyrus at this time began to slam himself into the barrier in an attempt to help Undyne break it down, while Alphys was trying to fruitlessly calculate some sort of way to get in there.

Asgore and Toriel just remained silent, both of them on the verge of breaking down and crying. This was too much for them. They couldn't take the sight of the girl that Toriel took in as her daughter being killed and tortured by their own son. They couldn't believe that the boy they had once taken in and raised as their own could possibly become such a dark and merciless being.

Asriel, however, was the one that was taking this all the hardest. His entire heart felt like shattering and breaking into a thousand pieces. From what Chara said, only one of them would walk out alive... how was Asriel supposed to make a decision of who he wanted to walk out? His own brother, or his friend that forgave him after everything he had done to her?

Chara lifted his foot up off of Frisk and gave a couple of strong breaths before giving a growl and holding his sword up in his right hand over Frisk's chest. With a yell, he raised the sword just a bit higher before bringing it down, plunging it right into Frisk's chest.

Frisk's eyes widened and she let out a tortured gasp as the blade pierced her chest like a knife through hot butter, the ribs in her chest snapping like twigs from the sheer power of the sword. She could feel her lungs and her heart completely crushed by this attack, and could just barely feel the feeling of her warm blood blasting out of her chest.

"NO!" Toriel shouted as she got up and tried to run to the barrier, but Asgore took hold of her and stopped her. "FRISK!" Alphys's calculating was brought to an immediate halt, and Undyne, Sans and Papyrus froze in place.

"...You could have taken my offer and came to me peacefully... it didn't have to end this painfully for you." Chara said as he let go of the handle of the sword he was holding with his right hand, and instead took hold of it with his left while he raised his right hand up and let it gather dark energy. When it had gathered enough, he pulled his right hand down to his chest in a closed fist, and the dark energy he had gathered had caused a small discus of that dark energy burst from where Frisk was stabbed by the sword.

There was utter silence among everybody as the attack was finished, and Frisk's little hand slowly fell to the ground. Chara stared at the body quietly for a few seconds as he slowly lifted the sword out of her chest. Watching all the blood leak out of her. "...Well... I didn't expect it to be over so soon... but I suppose I shouldn't be surprised." he said.

Toriel fell to her knees and began to cry like Hell. She was completely crushed at what she had just witnessed. Asgore hugged her in an attempt to comfort her, but that wasn't to be. He was silently crying, just as crushed about what had happened as Toriel was.

"No... Frisk..." Papyrus said quietly as he also fell on his knees. Undyne gave a yell of mourning and slammed her fist against the barrier that had kept her from saving Frisk as tears were also escaping her. Alphys and Sans just stared, unable to describe the pain and the sadness they felt for what had happened.

Asriel's emotions were at a complete loss of words... there was absolutely no adjective in the English language that could have possibly described the lament that washed over Asriel's heart.

"...Well... I guess that's that, then." Chara said as he turned around. He was about to give the gesture to his creations to take the barrier down, but he stopped cold when he heard a very, very weak groaning. He turned around and found Frisk's hand slowly twitching, her chest and mouth still bleeding like Hell.

Frisk was writhing in pain, but she knew she couldn't give up... she refused to go down so quickly... she refused to let herself die and abandon the world of its hope. With what tiny bit of strength she could muster, her body bleeding beyond the limits of any human body, she began to slowly force herself unto her feet. "...That's not possible." Chara said in complete shock as he watched Frisk slowly get up.

"...G-guys!" Alphys said. All of Frisk's friends looked at the barrier and stared in absolute shock. Frisk was getting up. After such an attack like that, anybody else would have died for sure... but Frisk's burning determination far surpassed the mortal limits of her human body.

"...How?" Chara questioned as she looked at Frisk, who was still bleeding horribly, but somehow still stayed on her two feet. "That attack completely crushed your heart and lungs... you should be dead by now!"

"Y... you... w... won't... b... be... beat... me..." Frisk said in a barely audible, pitiful voice as she slowly took her stick back into her hand and stood there weakly. "I... I... am... de... ter... mined... to... beat y... you... I... won't... l... let... you... kill... ev... ery... body..."

"...How sad..." Chara said as his sword began to gather dark energy. "How sad for you to think you actually have a choice here... your determination doesn't mean anything now... this next attack will finish you off." He raised the sword up into the air, and swung it down.

When he did, a green ball of energy was shot out of the sword that came into contact with Frisk. When it had hit her, she was surrounded by a gentle green aura, and miraculously, all of the wounds she had just taken slowly began to heal. The bleeding had completely stopped, bruises and open wounds she had were closed, and she could feel the beat of her heart again and was able to breathe once more as her lungs and heart were completely healed.

"What?" Chara questioned as he looked at the sword. "...Why did you..." He could feel something in his body... a slight wriggling and squirming... seemed like the Human Souls were already starting to fight against him and were trying to help Frisk.

"Frisk..." Asriel whispered slightly as he and the rest of Frisk's friends continued to watch quietly.

"...Phew..." Frisk said as she was fully healed up. "Taking those attacks didn't feel very pleasant at all..." She looked up at Chara and held her stick ready to fight. "...You're going to have to do better than that if you want to beat me."

"Nyeh heh heh heh! Alright Frisk!" Papyrus cheered as he got up to his feet. "Now come on, Frisk! Keep going!"

"That creep doesn't have anything on you, kid!" Sans cheered along with him. "Give that brat the ass whooping he deserves!"

"We know you can do it, Frisk!" Undyne shouted at her. "Now kick that brat's ass like it's your birthright!"

"...So... your determination really does mean something in this fight after all." Chara said with a hum as he took ahold of his sword handle in his left hand. "...I'm very impressed... but I know you can't survive attacks like that forever... we'll see how good your determination does you now that we're moving on to Round 2."

Frisk gave a nod and held her stick up and stared at Chara, ready to get going once again. The real battle was about to begin.


	17. Battle of Determinations?

Chapter 17

Battle of Determinations

Chara and Frisk both stood in the forcefield quietly, awaiting for the fight to start up again. Frisk held her stick in both of her hands, having no other weapon, but believing that she could be able to defeat Chara, even with just that. Chara held his sword quietly, the yellow eye it had staring at Frisk quietly, as if awaiting for her to do or say something.

All of Frisk's friends and Chara's brother watched in anticipation, holding their breaths as they waited for the fight to continue again. They had just literally watched their friend stand up from an assault that surely should have killed her... any other one of them would surely have died from that assault. But Frisk's determination burned stronger than that of anybody else in the room.

"...In all honesty, I'm not even sure why you continue to fight for these beings." Chara said as his sword's eye seemed to widen. "You could have been saving yourself and all your friends a lot of pain if you had just given up and came to me peacefully."

"...Maybe so." Frisk said. "But I would be causing the entire world so much pain if I did... this isn't just about destroying all of the humans in the world. You wouldn't stop at just destroying every last human on the planet. You and I killed all those monsters in the Underground once... there's no doubt that you wouldn't mind doing that all again if you were given the chance."

"Is that so?" Chara said with a hum. "...So, you're fighting for both the sakes of the monsters and the humans... good. Then that will be two races that you let down as soon as you lose."

"That's not going to be happening." Frisk said as she spun her stick around in her hand. "Let me tell you what's going to happen, Chara. You can either give up here and now, and release the souls inside you, and we all can go about our merry lives... or we can fight again, and you can be defeated by me."

"You're making a terrible mistake if you think you can beat me." Chara said as he tightened his grip on his sword and brought it behind him once again. "I will admit, I'm quite impressed that you were able to survive my first onslaught the way you did... but this time, I'm going to make sure that doesn't happen. If I have to cut you into a hundred pieces and crush every single one of them until you die, I'll do it. Either way, your soul is mine."

"We'll see about that. I'm not going to give up, no matter what. Even if you crush my body into a million pieces, I will never give up."

"Bah! I've heard enough out of you." Chara said as his tail began to sway fast and irritatedly at Frisk's words. "You've had more than enough time to talk and more than enough time to live... the time of mercy and hope for the world is over. Now... now it's time for the two of us to decide the fate of the universe."

"Cut!"

The sudden yelling of cut caused both Frisk and Chara to look away from each other and look to the person who was responsible for yelling the word. They looked over and saw the writer of this story sitting with the script in his right hand, his other hand scratching his chin slightly in irritation.

"Chara... that's not your line." he said as he pointed at the script. "You're supposed to say 'it's time to fight', not... whatever it was you just said."

"...I, uh... I knew that." Chara said as he looked around. "...I just thought that the fate of the universe would sound much cooler."

"Trust me, it doesn't." the writer said with a shake of his head as he sat back down in his chair. "...Alright... let's try that again, shall we?"

* * *

Chapter 17

Battle of Determinations

(Take 2)

"You're making a terrible mistake if you think you can beat me." Chara said as he tightened his grip on his sword and brought it behind him once again. "I will admit, I'm quite impressed that you were able to survive my first onslaught the way you did... but this time, I'm going to make sure that doesn't happen. If I have to cut you into a hundred pieces and crush every single one of them until you die, I'll do it. Either way, your soul is mine."

"We'll see about that. I'm not going to give up, no matter what. Even if you crush my body into a million pieces, I will never give up."

"Bah! I've heard enough out of you." Chara said as his tail began to sway fast and irritatedly at Frisk's words. "You've had more than enough time to talk and more than enough time to live... the time of mercy and hope for the world is over. Now... let the fun and games begin."

"Cut!"

Both Chara and Frisk once again looked away again and back to the writer, who this time, had his one hand tapping against the arm of his chair impatiently.

"No, no, no." he said with a shake of his head. "You're supposed to say 'it's time to fight'. You weren't even close to being right that time."

"I, uh... I knew that." Chara said with a nod as he looked at Frisk again with a chuckle. Frisk just looked at him and shook her head with a sigh. "I was just seeing if you and Frisk were paying attention... looks like you both were."

"Listen, Chara... could you please take this seriously?" Frisk questioned. "We're way behind on getting this chapter out, and we can't afford to waste any more time."

"Yes. Please listen to Frisk. We don't have all day with this." the writer said with a sigh and sat back in his seat again. "...Alright... from the top."

* * *

Chapter 17

Battle of Determinations

(Take 3)

"Bah! I've heard enough out of you." Chara said as his tail began to sway fast and irritatedly at Frisk's words. "You've had more than enough time to talk and more than enough time to live... the time of mercy and hope for the world is over. Now... I hope you believe in the heart of the cards, Frisk. Because this is no ordinary game-"

"God damn it, Chara! Stop the recording!"

Frisk gave an irritated groan, and Chara looked at the writer again. This time, he was practically forcing himself to not stand up and go over there on set.

"First of all, once again, you weren't even close! Again!" the writer yelled, having lost virtually all patience with Chara. "Second of all, 'heart of the cards'?! What the Hell are you talking about! This story has absolutely nothing to do with cards!"

"Oh... well..." Chara said as he looked around. "...Could have sworn we had a card game thrown in one of the..."

"Look, Chara. I'm not understanding what's going on here." the writer said with a shake of his head, trying to calm down. "You've had plenty of time to rehearse this. How are you forgetting this stuff so easily?"

"Uh... heck, I don't know." Chara said with a dismissing shrug.

"You DID look at the script and practiced, right?"

"Of course." Chara said with a scoff. "...I mean... I glanced at it from time to time."

"...What?..." The writer began to twitch, his his hand carrying the script beginning to furiously shake. Had his whitish-blonde hair not been covering his eyes, they would have the fiercest of fires in them. "...Glanced at it?... You... GLANCED at it?"

"Well... yeah." Chara said with a nod. "I didn't take the time to read the whole thing. I was busy playing some of my Pokémon games. Actually got a Pokémon of mine trained up to Level 100 in two days, so..."

The writer finally got up. Even without being able to see his eyes, both Chara and Frisk knew that if looks could kill, Chara would be dead. "...You... probably shouldn't have told him that." Frisk said

"Chara... I want you to understand something." the writer said as, despite his original attempts, he began to walk on the set, his entire body shaking in rage. "...I've worked for weeks on this script... spent time and time again, tediously looking at the script, compared to all the other chapters I've done so far, to find out what will work and what won't... and now... now after all that hard work, in one of the most important chapters in the entire story... you... didn't... even... LOOK AT THE FUCKING SCRIPT?!"

"...Pretty much, yeah." Chara said with a nod.

The writer gave a yell of the purest of rage. Had his yell been any louder, Chara and Frisk's ears would have started bleeding. He was not at all happy with Chara's refusal to rehearse during the time he had to do so.

"Hey, hey. Don't sweat it, Porks." Chara said with a nervous chuckle. "I don't need that script to help me out... I'm absolutely amazing and improvisation. I'll be able to improvise this whole thing." He waved his hand dismissively.

"Somehow, I have my doubts about that." the writer said with a sigh. It was either he try again and keep going with this, and pray to God that Chara got it right, or at least somewhere close enough that he could pass it off, or stop then and there, and leave the story with another chapter needed yet.

With a sigh of defeat, he returned to his seat and sat down. "...I honestly don't know why I'm bothering to try this..." he muttered as he gave a gesture to have the cameras roll again.

* * *

(Take 4)

"...Oh, I'm gonna beat the Hell out of you, little gal!" Chara exclaimed as he raised his sword up in the air. "I'm gonna cut you into so many pieces, I'll be able to send you to every country in the world!"

"What... the... fuck..." Frisk mouthed without saying anything. She wasn't one to curse at all, but this was simply too ridiculous.

"Hey, here's something your determination can help you get through: kissing my demonic ass! Spankety, spankety, spankety!"

"Cut! Cut! CUT!"

Frisk gave a shudder and smacked her face with the palm of her hand, shaking her head as Chara once again looked at the writer of the story.

"Are you freaking kidding me?! What the Hell was that supposed to be?!" the writer questioned.

"That's my impersonation of you, Porks." Chara said as he pointed at the writer. "Maybe next time, you'll reconsider portraying me as a whiney little puss in a nightmare when I'm supposed to be a powerful, demonic bad ass."

"...Jesus Christ, you're awful." Frisk said as she didn't even lift her eyes out of the palm of her hand.

The writer sighed angrily and wanted so badly to just throw his script at Chara. "...Just try to get this right..." he said as he looked at Chara. "Please... I need to get this chapter out to the story today..."

* * *

(Take 5)

"I have no idea why I look like a transgender in this form." Chara said as he looked at his body that he took when he took all of the Human Souls. "I mean, does this tail make my butt look big?"

* * *

(Take 6)

Chara stood there, thinking of what to say for this take, when he felt the weight of his sword slightly lean to the left. When he looked at the sword he held in his hand, after a few seconds, the sword literally broke off the handle, falling to the ground with a very loud thud.

"...Pfft." Chara began to laugh from this, but Frisk and the writer were nowhere close to amused.

* * *

(Take 9)

"Hey, look at me! Look at me!" Chara said as he was swinging his sword around in figure eights in his air, each swing he made making a dark red aura follow, which formed the figure eight. "I guarantee you, no other character in this story is gonna be able to do what I can do."

* * *

(Take 15)

"Why the Hell do Sans and Papyrus get all the fans? Why does nobody like me?" Chara questioned as he began flexing his arms and performing poses that were seemingly to show off. "I mean, look at me! I've got the power, the intelligence, and the sexy looks that should make all the fan girls chasing after me."

* * *

(Take 19)

"...He always told me not to play with any of the devices that he built, and I just never listened." Chara said with a chuckle, while Frisk was leaning on the barrier, her eyes drooping as she was trying her best not to fall asleep. She didn't even know how long they've been trying to do this now. "And so, after one accident, I ended up causing a crack in his head and holes in his hands. Personally, I thought he looked better with them."

* * *

(Take 20)

After swinging his sword around in figure eights for another couple of minutes or so, Chara ended up accidentally dropping the sword mid-swing, and it landed on his foot, going through it. Chara's eyes widened and his mouth twitched as he felt the huge blade stab his foot. He held his foot in his hands and began to jump around on his other foot, screaming out any curse his mind could possibly muster.

* * *

(Take 38)

"You know, you and I could probably be the best models." Chara said to Frisk with a chuckle. "I mean, since our genders are up to anyone's interpretation, we can literally be whatever our babies want us to be, know what I'm saying?"

"That is it! I have had enough of this bull shit!"

Both Chara and Frisk looked as the writer was standing, his body shaking angrily once again. "Sans! Get some dragon skulls out!"

"How many times do I have to tell you?" Sans questioned. "They're called 'Gaster Blasters'."

"I don't give a shit what they're called! I'm the boss here, I'll call it whatever I please!" the writer yelled. "Now get them over here now!"

"Ugh... fine." Sans said. With a snap of his fingers, an entire ensemble of dragon skulls appeared, pointing at Chara, making his eyes widen and give a little yelp.

"Here's what's going to happen." the writer said sternly as he crossed his arms. "You're going to go to your dressing room... you are going to read the rest of your script, memorize each and every letter to a t, and you will not come back out here until you get this right. Got it?"

Chara hesitated for a few seconds, looking at the dragon skulls, Sans and the writer for a few seconds before making a run for it, running into his dressing room and locking the door to begin to memorize his script.

"...Ugh..." the writer said as he sat down and covered his forehead with the palm of his hand. "...Where the Hell is Mettaton?" He looked around and began to yell, "Mettaton!... Mettaton! Get your effeminate robotic ass over here now!"

"Uh... Mettaton isn't around here." Frisk said. "You told him you didn't want him to be in this story, remember?"

"Well, if one of you see him, tell him to come over here, and make sure Chara memorizes this script." the writer said as he got up and began to walk away. He needed a serious break.

 **Author's Note: You probably figured this out by now, but in case you don't understand, no. This is not the actual chapter 17 of this story. I just decided that I wanted to do a little late April Fool's thing. It's pretty late, I know, but better late than never.**

 **Alright, I'll get working on the actual chapter again now. No more jokes like this for the rest of the story. I promise.**


	18. Battle of Determinations

Chapter 17

Battle of Determinations

Chara and Frisk both stood in the forcefield quietly, awaiting for the fight to start up again. Frisk held her stick in both of her hands, having no other weapon, but believing that she could be able to defeat Chara, even with just that. Chara held his sword quietly, the yellow eye it had staring at Frisk quietly, as if awaiting for her to do or say something.

All of Frisk's friends and Chara's brother watched in anticipation, holding their breaths as they waited for the fight to continue again. They had just literally watched their friend stand up from an assault that surely should have killed her... any other one of them would surely have died from that assault. But Frisk's determination burned stronger than that of anybody else in the room.

"...In all honesty, I'm not even sure why you continue to fight for these beings." Chara said as his sword's eye seemed to widen. "You could have been saving yourself and all your friends a lot of pain if you had just given up and came to me peacefully."

"...Maybe so." Frisk said. "But I would be causing the entire world so much pain if I did... this isn't just about destroying all of the humans in the world. You wouldn't stop at just destroying every last human on the planet. You and I killed all those monsters in the Underground once... there's no doubt that you wouldn't mind doing that all again if you were given the chance."

"Is that so?" Chara said with a hum. "...So, you're fighting for both the sakes of the monsters and the humans... good. Then that will be two races that you let down as soon as you lose."

"That's not going to be happening." Frisk said as she spun her stick around in her hand. "Let me tell you what's going to happen, Chara. You can either give up here and now, and release the souls inside you, and we all can go about our merry lives... or we can fight again, and you can be defeated by me."

"You're making a terrible mistake if you think you can beat me." Chara said as he tightened his grip on his sword and brought it behind him once again. "I will admit, I'm quite impressed that you were able to survive my first onslaught the way you did... but this time, I'm going to make sure that doesn't happen. If I have to cut you into a hundred pieces and crush every single one of them until you die, I'll do it. Either way, your soul is mine."

"We'll see about that. I'm not going to give up, no matter what. Even if you crush my body into a million pieces, I will never give up."

"Bah! I've heard enough out of you." Chara said as his tail began to sway fast and irritatedly at Frisk's words. "You've had more than enough time to talk and more than enough time to live... the time of mercy and hope for the world is over. Now... now it's time to fight!"

"Hmph... as you wish... Chara." Frisk said as she stood, ready for Chara to make his first move.

"...D-do you guys think F-Frisk can do this?" Alphys questioned as she stared on as the two 'humans' were getting ready to battle once again.

"Of course she can, Alphys." Papyrus said. "After all, she was able to get past I, the Great Papyrus, back in Snowdin Forest. If she can do that, she can do anything."

"Yeah... besides, that punk has to hide behind those souls to destroy one human, and even then, he can't kill her." Undyne said as she stood there. "...That punk Chara doesn't stand a chance. Not as long as Frisk keeps determined and we all keep believing in her."

"...Hm?" Chara raised his eye in confusion as he continued to stare at Frisk, who just stood there, holding her stick defensively. "...What are you waiting for?" Chara questioned. "...Are you going to make your move, or are you just going to stand there and do nothing?"

"...Even when I don't have any choice, I really don't want to do this, Chara." Frisk said with a sigh and looked at all her friends, then back to Chara. "Come on... this whole fight is meaningless... what exactly will killing all of humanity accomplish for you? That's not going to change the fact that your mother and father treated you the way they did."

Chara gave a sigh and a shake of his head. "I'm doing you a favor, Frisk... you and the other Human Souls are going to be a part of the cleansing of the world from the filthiest creatures to inhabit it... if only I could get you to see that... but since you can't..." He leapt at Frisk suddenly with his sword pointing down, in the hopes of slicing Frisk into two halves.

Frisk was just barely able to roll out of the way of the attack. She could almost have felt the blade scratch at her shirt. If she had been any slower, she might have been dead. She knelt down and glanced at Chara as he just stood there and pulled his sword up from the ground. The demon had a prime moment where he could have caught her off guard then and there and kill her on the spot, but instead, he just stood there, with a smirk on his face. It was clear that he wanted Frisk to start fighting back.

Frisk got to her feet and stood bravely before Chara, holding her stick up defensively. After a few more seconds, Chara's smirk faded and was replaced with a frown that showed confusion, annoyance, and disappointment all at the same time.

"Frisk... what are you doing?" Papyrus called to her from outside the barrier that kept him from helping her out. "You cannot afford to give your enemy an opportunity to strike."

"Papyrus is right, Frisk." Undyne called in there. "Get to kicking his punk ass!"

"...Yeah... I'm with your friends on that one." Chara said with a frown. "This game is a lot less fun when my opponent isn't fighting back." He went and charged at her again, swinging horizontally twice this time, Frisk just barely being able to duck out of the way. A few strands of her hair were cut, but she knew that these attacks weren't aimed to kill her. Chara was trying to provoke her, and she knew it. The demon wanted to have some sick enjoyment out of this.

After the attack, Frisk began to back up, getting some distance from Chara. The demon's frown deepened, almost into a pout. "Is this some kind of joke to you?" he questioned. "Come on... at least let me have some fun with this before you die." He did an attack that was familiar to Frisk, slowly swaying his left hand from his right side to his left, a trail of magical fire appearing from it and flying towards Frisk.

Frisk was able to dodge most of the fire, but one of the balls of flames was able to strike her, setting a searing pain throughout her entire body. It was nothing new, as both Asgore and Toriel were known to be able to do fire magic like that. However, Chara's felt much more ferocious and powerful, unsurprisingly. She was hurting quite a bit now, but it was nothing that would keep her down. She looked up at Chara again, still refusing to make any actions.

"...I'm giving you a fighting chance here, trying to make this more fun and fair for me, and here you are, just dodging my attacks and refusing to fight." Chara said with a sigh and a shake of his head. "...I was honestly expecting that you would put up some fight to try and protect yourself... but I guess that's just not happening... if you won't even let me have fun with this in the slightest bit... then I guess I'm just going to have to end this game here and now."

He began to slam his sword to the ground, and each time he hit the ground with his sword, it formed huge balls of dark purple shadow energy. He had formed a total of five of them before stopping and giving a grin at Frisk, who just took a few steps back. They looked too big for her to dodge, and she wasn't sure if she'd be able to find a way around them.

"Let's see you scurry your way out of this." Chara said as he thrusted his hand forward and all five of the shadowy balls began to close in around Frisk. Her eyes searched for a place where she could get in between them and dodge, but there were very few spots that gave her a chance to escape as the balls of energy were closing in on her.

Chara gave a triumphant smirk as he kept his hand forward, thinking that he had Frisk completely trapped. His smirk, however, soon faded when he felt another feeling of resistance inside his body. He glanced at his hand, and he saw that for whatever reason, all five of his finger tips were glowing yellow as they were automatically pointing to the location of the shadowy balls of energy. Chara tried to retract his arm, but for some reason, it was completely frozen in place. He couldn't move it.

"What the-" he started, but couldn't finish it before out from his pinkie came a yellow bullet-like blast of energy that hit one of the balls of energy and sent it off course, crashing into the forcefield that the elemental creatures had formed and exploding far enough from Frisk that it couldn't harm her.

As Chara stared in shock as his pinkie stopped glowing yellow after the blast and he was able to move it again, his thumb also fired one of those blasts at another one of the balls. This blast punctured the shadowy ball easily and blew it up on contact, making Frisk flinch as it exploded much closer to her than the first two had, but she still wasn't harmed.

His ring finger and his index finger fired their blasts simultaneously, and the two of them had hit two of the energy balls in a way that caused both of them to fly upwards, just barely missing the hairs of Frisk's head as they were forced to fly above them. Instead of exploding once they came into contact with the forcefield, the two bounced off of it and began to fly back towards Chara, faster than they had been heading for Frisk. Chara, with his hand still frozen in place, had no way to dodge them. Having no other alternative than to attack them and take an explosion rather than a direct hit, he swung his sword at them the minute both of them came into range.

As to be expected, as soon as his sword slashed through the two balls, they exploded right towards Chara, damaging his body slightly and forcing him back a few feet. As Chara's body was being dragged back from the force of the two explosions, his middle finger fired its blast that hit the remaining ball of energy. Due to Chara being dragged back a few feet from the explosions, however, the blast wasn't able to hit the ball in a way that would either destroy it or reflect it in a different direction, and only distorted its path slightly.

This distortion on the ball's path allowed Frisk to be able to just barely get out of the way from it. The shadowy energy scraped against her arm and caused her some pain, but it wasn't something that was going to keep her from fighting Chara with all of her strength. Missing its target, the ball continued on its distorted path and hit the forcefield, exploding on contact just like the first one.

As the smoke from all five of the explosions had faded, all of the spectators were able to catch a glimpse of Chara, growling while he had several tears and burn marks on his clothing. Frisk held her arm as it hurt a bit, but she stood strong, and in seemingly better condition than Chara was in.

"That's two of them already..." Asriel said as he watched on. "...If this keeps up, all the souls are going to rebel against him before this fight is over."

Chara heard Asriel's words and looked at Frisk for a little bit. "...Oh." the demon said as he began to laugh in an amused matter. "Hahahahaha! I now see what you're doing by not attacking me. You're trying to stay alive and bide time in the hopes of having my souls rebel against me so you can actually have a fighting chance. I should have known. Even without me pulling your strings, you can be quite the clever one when you want to be."

He pointed his sword at Frisk as she stood there, her stick still in hand as she watched and listened quietly. "You thought that you would be clever and try to outsmart me, didn't you? Well, I'm afraid that that's not going to work, little girl. I've been around this earth as a soul long before you ever existed, and my intellect is far more than what you could ever imagine, as is my strength. When this fight is done, you shall have the privilege of adding to my strength, and finally bringing into full circle the plans of mine that you started up when you decided to-"

Without any warning whatsoever, Frisk suddenly hurled her stick right at Chara, getting it to go into his right eye. This immediately made the demon stop talking. After a few seconds of quiet, he dropped his sword, letting a loud thud be heard from it as it landed to the ground. "...FUCK!" he shouted as he put his hand over the eye that had the stick in it, opening his fingers so that the stick was in between the space in it. "Ow! My eye! My freaking eye!" He held his one hand over his eye while his other grabbed at the stick and began to pull on it, trying to get it out without ripping his eye right out of the socket.

Chara was able to rip the stick out of his eye without popping it right out of his eye socket. His eye was slowly oozing black ink-like blood, almost like tears as he looked at Frisk in shock. "...Sorry. I missed." Frisk said while rubbing the back of her head. "I was trying to aim for your mouth... oh well... I guess I was able to get you to shut up either way."

All of Frisk's friends stared quietly as they heard her say those words. All of them were shocked to have heard that. "...D... did you g-guys... hear that?" Alphys questioned.

"That... that doesn't sound like Frisk at all." Toriel said. She could never remember a time where Frisk told anybody to shut up.

"...Oh." Chara said with a little chuckle as he held out the stick a little bit for Frisk to see. "...You're getting a little bit hostile, aren't you?" he questioned. "...Or perhaps... you're finally starting to show just how you truly feel about me."

"Look, Chara." Frisk said, much more firmly and almost threateningly, sending a chill down the spines of her friends. They never heard her talk like this. She was always so nice and friendly to everyone... she never got this mad. "I'm getting sick and tired of this 'game' of yours, as you like to call it... it's clear that you're not going to let me help you no matter what I try... if you're not going to cooperate with me, then I'm just going to have to beat some sense into you."

"Frisk..." Asriel said as he stared at the inside of the forcefield in worry. Frisk was starting to let Chara get into her head.

"...Now... here's what we're going to do." Frisk said as she held her hand out. "You're going to give my stick back to me... and we're going to continue on fighting... and I'm going to knock some sense into you, and save you, whether you like it or not... now... give me my weapon. Now."

Chara gave a gleeful chuckle. "Yes. I knew you had it in you." he said. "Finally. This may be a bit of fun after all." He tossed Frisk her stick, and she was just barely able to catch it in both her hands. He then got his sword up from the ground and held it in his right hand.

Frisk then looked at Toriel and Asgore, and then to Asriel "...Sorry, my friend." she said to him. "...I have no other choice... I can't just keep dodging forever, and the souls aren't going to have any chances of doing their thing in time if I don't soften him up now."

"F-Frisk." Asriel said. "...Please... be careful... you're our only hope left."

"I know, Asriel... I know." Frisk said with a nod and a sigh. She then looked back at Chara. "...So... if I recall correctly, it was your turn?"

Chara gave a nod. "Yes, I believe so." he said as he held his sword up and thought of an attack that he would make. After a few seconds of thought, he gave a smirk and held his sword out towards Frisk, and the yellow eye opened wide and began to glow. After a few seconds, a purple misty figure that looked exactly like Frisk appeared and stood before Chara. Frisk stared at the figure quietly and gave a little wave of her right arm, which the figure did, except it waved its left arm, as if Frisk was looking into a mirror.

Chara then smirked and pointed to the figure's head. "Let's see what your puzzle solving skills do for you in this one." he said with a smirk as he held the sword up, about to slash the figure in half. Just before bringing the sword down, Frisk saw exactly what Chara was attempting to do. She quickly jumped to the right, which made the figure jump to its left as Chara slashed the sword down, successfully dodging the swing.

As the sword came down and hit the ground, red energy spikes began to shoot up from the ground one after another, moving in a straight line as they headed for the figure. "Oh, come on." Frisk said as she saw the spikes coming to the figure from behind. She turned around and began to take a step backwards to run and get some distance from the energy spikes, but as she did, she realized that at the spur of the moment, she had forgotten that the figure worked as a mirror image. If she ran back to try to get away from the spikes, she'd make the figure run right into them.

She turned around and tried to take a step forward to try and get some distance before it was too late, but she didn't have enough time before the spikes got to the figure and rose from the ground below it, piercing the figure in many places. As that happened, Frisk gave a gasp and a loud scream as she felt a searing pain shoot out throughout her body. It felt just like what it was, a whole bunch of needles piercing her body at one time. Her body began to bleed from several spots where the needles had pierced the dark purple figure.

All of Frisk's friends gasped and cringed as they heard her pained screamed and saw the blood. Toriel began to feel lightheaded from the fight and the thought of the pain that Frisk must be going through. It made her sick to her stomach, and she wanted to throw up so much.

Sans gave a little growl and leaned on the forcefield, his left arm on it. "...Come on, kid... you can do it." he said quietly.

"Aw, what a shame." Chara said with a chuckle as the figure and the spikes disappeared without a trace, save for the pain Frisk felt and the slight bleeding she was experiencing now. "You were doing well when you figured out that it was a mirror image of you... you just forgot that detail at the point where it counted, and that's why you weren't able to-"

Before Chara finished, Frisk was able to get up to him and was somehow able to get up to his face and smacked it as hard as she could with her stick, virtually slapping him across the face with it, and bringing his face to look at the left for a few seconds.

After a few seconds, Chara looked back at Frisk with a smug smirk on his face, with Frisk's attack doing almost nothing on him except give him a slight sting on his cheek. "...Care to take another shot at me?" Chara asked mockingly.

Frisk looked at his cheek, then glanced at her stick before looking back to Chara. "...Would you let me if I said yes?" she questioned.

"Ah... well, you know, if I wasn't working on such a tight schedule, I'd be more than happy to let you have another shot... but... you know... with two of the six souls already rebelling against me... kind of working on a schedule here." Chara said with that smug smirk before he turned his sword to its side and swung it up, smacking Frisk and sending her flying up from the force.

Frisk gave a scream of pain as she was sent flying up, going up so far that she smacked into the top of the barrier that she and Chara were trapped in. She fell back down to the ground with a crash. Any other person would have been broken at this point, but Frisk refused to go down so easily.

As she was attempting to get up, Chara suddenly appeared right by her and stepped on her legs with his right foot, immobilizing them from the force with which he kept on them, rendering Frisk unable to move.

"Come on, Frisk! Get up!" Undyne yelled as she was hitting the barrier to try to get her attention. "Don't let this punk beat you now!"

"You're our last hope, Frisk." Asgore called out to her. "Please! Stay determined!"

"As if you had a choice." Chara said as he lifted his sword up, aiming to stab and crush her chest again, just like the last time. Frisk tried to struggle away, but as she looked up at him, she noticed that there was a flash of light blue in Chara's pupils. Frisk got the feeling that whatever happens next, she would want to stay still and not move a muscle.

"This time, I'm not going to let you live through this one." Chara said as he raised his sword up higher. He glanced at his sword as he noticed it was beginning to glow light blue. He knew that one of the souls was trying something on him again, so he decided to not give it the chance and try to kill Frisk then and there before it got the chance to mess him up like the yellow one did. "Now... die!" he yelled as he raised the sword just a bit higher before plunging it down.

With the light blue glow of it remaining persistent, and Frisk not moving a single inch, the sword didn't do anything to her. It harmlessly passed through her as if she were a ghost. There was silence between Chara, Frisk, and all her friends as they all stared at the sword that was inside her, but not doing anything.

"...Uh... perhaps you weren't really paying attention to me." Chara said as he raised his sword out of her, the light blue glow still there. "I said die!" He tried to stab her in the chest again, Frisk still not moving an inch, and once again, the sword going through her without doing any damage. After a few seconds of hesitation, Chara lifted the sword up again and stared at Frisk, not moving for a while. "...1 2 3 die!" he counted very quickly as he tried to stab her once more, only to get the exact same result as he did the other two times.

"...Well, ain't that a fat load of Grade A bullcrap." Chara said as he lifted the sword out of Frisk again, and began to shake it a little bit, trying to get the blue aura off of it. He became so focused on shaking off the power of the Light Blue soul, he didn't notice that he had lifted his foot off of Frisk's legs and put it to the ground with his other. Frisk gave a silent sigh and mentally gave the soul a thanks for saving her head.

After a few seconds of shaking, the light blue aura disappeared from Chara's sword. "Ah... there we go." he said as he began to turn back to Frisk. "Now... where were we, little-" When he fully turned around, however, Frisk was already a good distance away. She was able to get away from him while he was busy dicking around with his sword.

"...That was the Soul of Patience that just rebelled, wasn't it?" Frisk asked. "...That means that half of the souls are already rebelling against you... it won't be long now until you lose control of all of them."

"Grrr... I'm letting you get away with too much, apparently." Chara said as he held his sword towards her. "I'm obviously not going at you as hard as I should be."

"And neither am I." Frisk said as she held her stick towards him, to match the pose of him holding his sword. As she stood there, she gave a grimace as she felt a pain in her stomach, not really caused from any of the attacks Chara had just inflicted on her. "You might want to consider giving up now, Chara. Trust me, you're not going to like what I'm about to do now." she said.

"What? You think I'm afraid of what you can do to me?" Chara questioned with a smirk as he held his sword to the side and stood in a bit of a mocking pose, as if to try and egg Frisk into whatever she was planning to do. "Go on ahead... do whatever your little heart feels like."

"Well... alright... but you asked for it." Frisk said. She remained standing there, both her and Chara staring at each other dead in the eyes. All of Frisk's friends held their breaths as they watched in anticipation, waiting to see what exactly Frisk was going to try to do to beat Chara.

All of them were absolutely baffled by what Frisk did. She put her stick down to the side and sat down. Then, out of her pocket, she was somehow able to pull out what appeared to be a little electronic stove and a little pot. She went over to the barrier and filled the pot with some of the water that was used to make it.

"...What?..." Chara questioned as he watched her put the pot on the little stove and turned it on. "...What... are you... doing?" Chara asked.

"What does it look like?" Frisk questioned as she took out of her pocket a pack of Instant Noodles and grabbed her stick again, and began to give a few crushes and whacks at the pack to make sure the noodles weren't all bunched up into one big square when it was time to boil them. "I'm making myself a pack of Instant Noodles."

"...You... can't be serious." Chara questioned as he stared at her, continuing to hit the packaging that had the noodles in them. He looked up at all of Frisk's friends, who looked back to Chara, obviously just as flabbergasted as he was. "...We're in the middle of a fight... a fight to determine the entire fate of humanity and monsters alike... and you... you're going to start cooking noodles right in the middle of it?"

"I haven't eaten anything since last night. I'm getting pretty hungry." Frisk answered without looking at him as she gave a quick check to see if the water was boiling before going back to hitting the packaging. "Besides, after getting launched into the air and slammed into the ground, I could use a little healing."

"...You know those things are going to take you a few good minutes to make, right?... A few minutes that you're expecting me to wait and do absolutely nothing while you just heat those up and eat them... what exactly makes you think that I'm not just going to attack you either while you're eating or making the noodles, and kill you while your guard is down?"

"I dunno." Frisk responded simply as she stopped hitting the packaging and just watched the pot, waiting for it to boil.

All of Frisk's friends slowly turned their heads to each other and then looked back into the forcefield, seeing Frisk just sitting there and Chara standing there, still trying to process all of this. They supposed that with her making and eating the noodles taking a few minutes, to the very least, the souls might have a few extra minutes or so to be able to rebel against Chara... that is... if Chara is somehow able to wait that long.

For whatever reason, Chara seemed to be willing to wait for a little bit and let Frisk do what she was doing. He gave a sigh and stabbed his sword into the ground, the tip going into the floor and standing upright perfectly when he let his hand off of it, and sat down, crossing his legs and resting his elbows on his knees and his cheek on the palm of his right hand as he waited.

"...You know you don't really have to boil those at all, right?" Chara questioned. "They're much better when they're dry."

"I honestly doubt that." Frisk said, giving a quick glance to him before looking back to the pot, waiting for it to boil. Chara just gave a roll of his eyes and a sigh in response as he sat there, waiting for the pack of Instant Noodles to finish.


	19. War and Rebellion

Chapter 18

War and Rebellion

Frisk didn't feel anything short of lucky or blessed at that particular moment; whichever one it was, she was just happy to have the moment of respite as she waited for the noodles to finish boiling so she could eat them.

The noodles were about a minute or so away from being finished with boiling. At about the point where they reached the three minute mark, Chara had apparently become so bored of waiting for her to get finished that he fell asleep while sitting. She would take a second from time to time to glance up from the pot and the stove up to Chara, just to make sure he was still sitting there, his legs crossed, his head resting on the palm of his hands, still sleeping. Every time she glanced up, he remained there, quietly sleeping as he awaited for Frisk to be done.

Even Frisk's friends were taking a break from spectating and holding their breaths to see what happened next. Several of them were sitting down, quietly and awkwardly waiting for Frisk to be done making her noodles. The only exceptions to these were Sans, who stood at the wall, leaning his back against it with his arms and legs crossed, Undyne, who stood and patiently tapped the butt of her spear on the ground, and Asgore, who paced around quietly and nervously, thinking of something.

After a few more seconds or so, the stove gave a little ding to notify Frisk that the water was done boiling. "Ah. It's done." she said as she turned the little stove off and got the noodles in a little bowl for herself. "...Where the heck do I get these things anyway?" she asked herself as she glanced at the bowl and then at the little stove and pot. All of those items were way too big to fit in her pockets, and even if her pockets were big enough to carry that stuff, she never even remembered carrying a pot, a bowl or a stove with her, neither in the Underground nor on the surface.

She gave a little shrug, dismissing the idea before glancing back at Chara. His head was no longer resting on his hands, but was drooping down with his arms dangling to the floor between his legs with his head facing down. It was clear that the timer going off didn't awaken him, and he continued to sleep quite soundly. At the very least, Frisk wouldn't have to worry about Chara rushing her to hurry up at all. She got a spoon out of her pocket, and scooped up some of the noodles and ate them.

She swallowed the noodles quite quickly and gave a little grimace. They tasted terrible. How was Alphys able to eat such a thing like this at all?

Then it hit her that she had forgotten to add the flavor packet to the noodles. She put the bowl down and grabbed the packaging the noodles were in, holding it upside down and shaking it a bit before a flavor packet dropped down, which she caught and opened, pouring the content into the noodles. She stirred the flavor mix into the noodles for about half a minute or so before taking another bite. They tasted a lot better. They still weren't overly great, but they were definitely better.

She finished eating the noodles in about two minutes or so. Afterwards, she pushed the stove, pot and bowl to the side, placing the spoon back into her pocket and looking back to Chara. "Alright, Chara. I think I'm ready to continue." Frisk said, to which Chara didn't make any reply. "...Chara... Chara!"

Chara gave a little snort as he darted up, waking up from Frisk's call. "Eh. Wha?" he asked drowsily as he looked at Frisk, rubbing the tiredness out of his eyes.

"I just finished eating." Frisk said as she gestured to the stuff she had used to eat and make the Instant Noodles pushed to the side. "I'm ready to continue on with our fight."

"Oh... jeez. Took you long enough, didn't it?" Chara muttered as he stood up and pulled his sword out of the floor. "If I had known you were going to take that long, I would have attacked you while you were still cooking that stuff."

"It didn't take that long." Frisk said with a roll of her eyes as she picked up her stick again. "Don't tell me you would have attacked me if you knew it would take that long. You told me that it was going to take a few minutes while the water was still boiling. You knew it was going to take a while before it was done."

"Well..." Chara looked down after Frisk said that with a little grumble. "...Yeah... whatever... that doesn't matter anymore."

Frisk gave a nod and watched as Chara was stretching a bit with his sword in his hand. Three souls had yet to rebel, and they hadn't while Chara was sleeping... perhaps they would only rebel as Chara attacked. "...How did you sleep?" Frisk questioned, seeing if she could stall the battle just a little longer.

"Eh. Not very good." Chara said as he continued to stretch. "Was having a bad dream the second I fell asleep."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." Frisk said. "What was your dream about?"

"You probably wouldn't understand what I'm talking about if I told you. In my dream, I was..." Chara started before stopping himself. "...No. You're not stalling this battle any further. We're fighting here and now."

Frisk gave a little sigh and held her stick in her hand and watched as Chara got into his battle position. "Bummer. I was really hoping that would work..." Frisk said. All of Frisk's friends looked back at the forcefield and gathered around again, seeing that the fight was about to continue.

"If I recall correctly, it was my turn?" Chara questioned.

Frisk gave a nod. "I believe that would be correct." she said.

Chara gave a nod and looked up as he began to count mentally to himself, using his fingers to count as well as he did. "Let's see... I already did that shadow trap thing... did the homing energy balls... did I do the meteor shower, yet?"

"...The... uh... no... I don't think you have yet."

Chara gave a nod and held his sword up. "Alright then. Let's see how you fair against that then, shall we?" he questioned as he swung his sword down vertically behind him. A strange rift in what appeared to be space opened from behind him as he jumped to the side out of harm's way.

The rip began to slowly expand horizontally, opening up further as from out of its widened mouth, a flurry of small, fiery rocks came shooting out at a high speed. Frisk gave a little yelp as she saw them approaching. It took just about every bit of her skills of dodging in order to keep from getting hit by those meteorites. They were small, but they were vert fast.

"Frisk! W-watch out!" Alphys called as Frisk started dodging. "Th-those are small, but they're fast!"

"Oh, really?!" Frisk exclaimed sarcastically as she looked at Alphys as she continued to try and dodge. "I never would have noti-" Before she could finish speaking, a meteorite that was heading straight for her while her eyes were off it made contact with her head, exploding and causing her to get knocked down to the ground.

"Frisk!" Papyrus exclaimed as Frisk fell to the ground. Seeing Frisk fall to the ground, Chara gave a smirk and watched as the meteorites stopped coming out of the rip. He leapt back in front of the rip as it began to close, shutting without a trace after a few seconds.

"How do you like that, Frisk?" Chara questioned with a mocking smirk as he swayed his tail, coiling it around his sword slightly. "It's amazing what a couple of extra souls can allow one to do, huh?"

Frisk was slow to get up, but she was able to get up quietly. She kept her face down for a few seconds before looking up at Chara with a smirk on her face. "Wh... what?!" Chara questioned in shock. "What's with that look on your face?! Why are you smirking?!"

"Oh, sorry. It's nothing." Frisk said, her voice filled to the brim with determination and hope. "For now though... it looks like it's my turn." Her smirk faded as she held her stick tight and began to charge forward. Chara, amused how she continues to run at him with so pitiful a weapon, stayed right where he was and let Frisk have a swing at him. She made it up in front of him and held her stick with both hands as she swung it with all of her might, striking Chara in the stomach.

The stick came into contact with Chara's stomach, and while the demon had originally thought it would leave nothing but a little sting, juts like the last attack, he was shocked to feel his stomach hurt a bit from the attack. He took a couple of steps back, his sword dragging across the floor with him, making a horrible screeching sound which made everyone else wince and shudder at the sound of it. His left hand clutched instinctively to the new pain that he felt.

" _It... can't be..._ " Chara thought to himself as he looked back at Frisk, who stood there, waiting patiently for Chara to make his move, her finger tapping on the stick in anticipation. " _I'm... I'm getting weaker... with each soul that rebels, she does more damage to me, and I do less... if I don't finish this off soon, I won't be able to beat her... but now, I don't know if I have the power to crush her here and now!_ " He began to quiver a little bit at the thought. Here he was with the power of the other Human Souls, and he still wasn't able to beat Frisk...

" _N-no... what am I saying?_ " Chara questioned as he looked up at Frisk, who was still standing there, waiting patiently for him to make his move. " _She's just a child... a human child... I just have to take her out quickly before any more of the souls can rebel, that's all!_ "

Chara looked back at Frisk, hiding all of his worry and doubt as he held his sword straight forward. He swiftly pointed it to his left, Frisk expecting something to happen when he did, but nothing seemed to happen. He then swung his sword over so it was pointing to the right, but again, nothing happened when he did. He then pointed his sword straight forward again for a few seconds before flipping his sword so that it was pointing at himself.

Frisk stared in confusion, as did all of her friends. None of them had any idea what Chara was attempting. "Let's see you figure this out." Chara said with a smirk before he seemingly vanished into thin air, leaving not a trace as he disappeared. Frisk's eyes widened as she looked around, trying to figure out what was going on.

Just seconds later, four Chara's appeared around Frisk, one on each side of her. All four of them had their swords up, ready to swing, and began to charge towards her with great velocity.

Frisk looked back and forth between the Chara's trying to find a way to avoid this attack. As the Chara's continued to fly towards her, however, the one on Frisk's right, the one in front of her and the one behind her disappeared, leaving just the left one charging towards. Only having a moment to act, Frisk was able to nimbly jump to the right, avoiding Chara's attack as he swung his sword down. After the attack missed, that Chara disappeared as well.

Frisk regained her balance after the dodge and was about to prepare herself for her next move, but before she did, four more Chara's appeared and surrounded her, and began to charge at her again. Frisk kept her eyes on the one on the left, ready to dodge it when she needed to, but this time, the left Chara was one of the ones that disappeared. Before Frisk had any more time to react, the one on her right swung his sword at her, striking her in the back and sending her flying a few feet, blood starting to trail from where Chara had hit her.

She fell to the ground and was slow to get up once again, only getting up just as another set of four Chara's appeared and began charging. As they did, Frisk thought about the directions that the Chara's had struck, and remembered the directions that Chara had pointed his sword before he started this attack. That's when it hit her; Chara was giving indications of which Chara would be the real him. Knowing that, Frisk waited for the other Chara's to disappear before she ran backwards, able to avoid the attack from the Chara that was in front of her.

Frisk waited for the four Chara's to appear again. Just as she figured out, the ones to her left and right and the one in front of her disappeared. She timed her dodge just right as she moved to the left, dodging Chara's attack. Before he had a time to disappear and reappear, she grabbed her stick and hit Chara hard in the stomach, earning a pained groan for the demon as he clutched his stomach again.

"Not bad." Chara said as he looked at her, quickly snaking his tail around her feet and lifting her up from her legs, Frisk giving a surprised yelp as she was hung upside down by the demon. "Guess you aren't too shabby at figuring puzzles out after all. But now it's time to die, Eighth Human." While still holding Frisk with his tail, he held his sword like a baseball bat, ready to take a swing and decapitate her.

Frisk gave a gasp and acted quickly, swiftly taking her stick and jabbing it into Chara's left eye. "Agh! Damn it!" Chara yelled in pain and sheer frustration as he threw Frisk to the ground, earning a pained yelp from the girl. Frisk was slow to get up as Chara was covering his left eye with his left hand.

"Alright..." Chara said, giving a chuckle to try and not lose his cool. "I'm gonna have to ask you to stop hitting me in the eyes, could you?"

"How's this for a deal?" Frisk questioned. "You give up, let the other souls go and promise to never hurt anyone again, and I'll stop hitting you in the eyes."

"Hmmmm... tempting... but I got a better idea." Chara said as he pointed his sword to the ground and raised it up a bit as a dark purple aura began to surround it. "How about you see how many of these attacks you can take before you die?" He slammed his sword into the ground and from the sword and the ground came a hole flurry of shadowy shockwaves. Frisk's eyes widened as she watched as they spread out everywhere in the forcefield as they headed towards her. She had no hope of dodging that attack.

Frisk gave a scream as she felt all of the shockwaves attack her in a rapid pace. They didn't really hurt too much individually, but what little chip damage they were doing was quickly building up the more times she was hit. "F-Frisk!" Alphys exclaimed as her friends grimaced at the sight of taking all that damage at once.

Asriel watched on in horror, away from the others. Even when it was happening right in front of his face, and he knew it would be happening, he never wanted to believe it was true. A battle between the one human that saved him and his best friend and adopted brother. He didn't know how long it had been going on, but the minutes seemed to crawl on slower and slower with each hit the two landed on each other.

Chara lifted his sword out of the ground and gave a smirk as Frisk fell on one of her knees, her hands on the ground as she was breathing heavily. "Hmmm... still not quite there yet, huh?" he questioned as he raised his sword up again. "Alright. That's one you took. Next." He stabbed his sword into the ground again, creating more shockwaves that spread throughout the forcefield. Frisk could do nothing but attempt to shield whatever parts of her she could with her arms as she was hit by the shockwaves once again.

"Frisk! There must be something you can do!" Papyrus yelled from outside. "You have to find a way to dodge that attack!"

"There's no way of dodging the attack. That's the whole point." Sans said as he looked on, glaring at Chara. "He knows that the longer it takes to kill Frisk, the less his attacks are going to do to her, as well as the fact that she can simply dodge whatever attacks he throws at her if she needs to... so he's using an attack that's unavoidable and will hit her as many times as possible."

"No, that can't be true!" Undyne yelled as she watched on. "There has to be a way for Frisk to not get hit by any of those!"

"There is a way... but it's not up to Frisk." Sans said with a sigh as he stared at Chara's chest, where the other souls were being held prisoner. "...Whichever one plans to help her now better act fast..."

Chara lifted his sword off the ground and watched as Frisk somehow was feebly able to stand herself back up. "...So that was two." he said as he held his sword up again, ready to deliver a final blow to finish Frisk off. "And this..." Failing to notice the aura surrounding the sword changing from dark purple to orange, he stabbed the sword into the ground again.

The shockwaves came again, this time they were completely orange. Once Frisk saw the orange color, she immediately began to run towards Chara as best as he could, her stick tightly held in her hand. Because of her movement, the orange shockwaves failed to hurt her, going right through her without leaving a single scratch on her. "Wh-what?!" Chara questioned in surprise. Frisk got to Chara in a matter of seconds and swung her stick at Chara's left knee. Chara gave a pained yell as he let go of his sword and fell on his right knee.

Some of the shockwaves that were still coming managed to hit Frisk, since she had to stop moving to hit Chara, and sent her flying back, but after Chara let go of his sword, the shockwaves stopped coming. It didn't take long for both of them to get up, but now it seemed that the tables had turned. Now Frisk was the one that seemed confident and completely into it, while Chara was now the nervous one.

"...That was the Soul of Bravery, wasn't it?" Frisk questioned. "...That means you only have two left to rebel against you."

"Chara's getting too weak." Asriel said as he watched on. "...He's not going to have the strength to beat Frisk at this rate."

"Chara... you can't win. You can keep swinging at me all you want... but once all of those souls rebel against you, you'll have no ways of defeating me... you might as well just give up right now." Frisk said. "You obviously can't beat me at this rate, and I'm really getting sick of fighting you."

"No... n... never." Chara growled as he took ahold of his sword again. His arm began to shake a little bit as he held the heavy sword in his hand. He wasn't sure if he was just getting tired, or if he was starting to become too weak to hold the sword. It was starting to become heavy for the demon. "I've come too far... nobody will escape their judgment... I will have my revenge, no matter what it costs."

Frisk gave a sigh and looked at Chara seriously. Perhaps it was time to try to talk some sense into him. "...You had the opportunity to get your revenge the second we came out of the Underground." she said. "You could have, with all of your LOVE, taken control of me as soon as we were free, and could have done whatever you wanted with that strength... but what did you do instead?"

Chara's eyes widened as Frisk said that, but not a single word came out of him. Instead, he just looked over at Asriel, who watched on quietly from outside the forcefield. "...You chose to put your plan to a halt to bring back your brother." Frisk went on. "No matter what you say and no matter how much you may pretend otherwise, you put the love of your family before killing all the humans. You chose to bring back the one person you love more than anyone, even if it meant sacrificing your LOVE."

"So what? That doesn't prove anything." Chara spat back as he glared at Frisk once more. "I would never put anything above my brother. He's the only one that-"

"And what about that day, when you fought Sans at his and Papyrus's house?" Frisk interrupted. "You and Windeol had the perfect opportunity to kill Sans and Papyrus that day, but instead you chose to spare them, and left them alive."

"I was weakened by my conscience that day... but I won't let it happen again. Once I take your soul-"

"I haven't finished yet!" Frisk demanded, which made Chara stop talking again. "You also tried to make a deal with me to come peacefully and give you my soul in exchange for not hurting any of my friends. Besides Asgore and Toriel, you have absolutely no reason to care for the others, and yet you would have gladly let them live if I didn't decide to fight."

"...That's enough..." Chara growled quietly as he looked down, his body starting to shake as he was trying to deny the truth that Frisk was telling him.

"Let's not forget about what's happening now. You could have killed me so many times, or just kept on attacking and not give me a chance to strike back, but you choose to fight me fairly, and as many times as you've tried to kill me, you hesitate with your attacks."

"Be quiet..." Chara threatened in a demonic growl as the grip he had on his sword tightened.

"You may try to tell yourself that you're some kind of demon, and you may have others believe it, but you and I know better!" Frisk yelled. "You have a heart, Chara! And you want to put a stop to this! I know you do! You just want to give everything up, live with your brother and your parents again!"

"I... SAID... SHUT UP!" Chara yelled in anger as he brought his sword up and slammed it hard on the ground, a huge ball of purple energy heading straight for Frisk. Despite its huge size, the projectile was moving quite slowly, allowing Frisk to dodge it. The ball came into contact with the forcefield behind Frisk and exploded in a bright light.

"...You can't hide it from me." Frisk said with a sigh. "...Chara... I don't want to fight you... and I know you don't want to fight me either... this fight has done nothing but cause us both so much pain, as well as pain to everyone who cares for us... and for what? Something that happened to you years ago?"

Chara remained silent as he looked down in thought. "...Please... Chara... just put the sword down." Frisk pleaded. "This fight's been going on for way too long now... and we're both getting tired of it..."

"...No... no." Chara said with a shake of his head as he held up his sword again. "...I've come too far... I've killed too many and done too many horrible things to turn back now... I've trapped myself in this role, and I'm going to finish the play, regardless of whether I want to or not."

Frisk gave a sigh and looked down, preparing to make another move. "...In that case... I'm sorry, Chara." she apologized. "...But if you're going to continue on this way... then I'll fight to stop you... no matter what happens." With that said, Frisk charged again, aiming to hit Chara in the other leg.

Chara didn't give her the chance, however, and dodged the attack, much to Frisk's surprise. "...Yeah... about that..." Chara started as he wagged his tail just a tad. "...You see... it's obvious that the more souls start rebelling against me, the more damage I'm going to take from your attacks... so... yeah. I just decided that I wouldn't let you hit me at all. That sound good?"

He didn't give Frisk the opportunity to answer before he landed a vicious uppercut unto her chin, sending her sprawling up into the air and landing back to the ground with a crash. Chara raised his sword up to stab her, but Frisk was able to recover quickly from the hit, grabbing her stick swiftly and swinging at his legs, to which the demon was just barely able to jump back to dodge it. "Hohoh. You almost got me." he mocked as he swung his sword down towards her, to which Frisk leapt to the left and rolled out of the way.

Frisk stared at Chara, trying to figure out what to do. "Yeah. Dodging ain't so nice if you're the attacker, is it?" the demon taunted as Frisk was trying to find a way to be able to hit him without his dodging.

As she quietly looked on, she noticed that Chara was being surrounded by a light purple aura. She saw that and gave a little subtle smirk. She could feel it, the other two souls ready to rebel against Chara. She gave a yell as she began to charge forward, stick at hand.

Chara gave a grin and tried to move, but his grin soon faded and turned into a confused, panic look as he looked throughout his body, seeing the purple aura as he noticed he wasn't able to move an inch. "Wh... what is this?" he questioned.

"That would be Perseverance!" Frisk yelled as she got over to Chara and swung her stick hard at his stomach. As soon as her attack came into contact with Chara, he was able to move again, but he wasn't able to attack or anything. The pain that he felt from the attack left him stunned as he grasped his stomach with his one free hand and backed up in pain.

"Argh... you little bitch!" Chara yelled as he brought his arm back to stab Frisk. "I'll kill you!" He tried to stab her, but once again found himself frozen in place, unable to move.

Frisk saw yet another opportunity and took it, hitting Chara low on his ankle, causing him to fall to the ground with a loud thud, his head bouncing up from the floor on the impact.

He gave a growl and wrapped his tail around Frisk and began to choke her, which made Frisk drop the stick with a choked gasp as she grabbed ahold of his tail and tried to pull it away from her neck. "Now hold still and die!" Chara yelled as he got up, raised his sword up and attempted to stab her while his tail was still choking her.

Frisk saw the sword and acted as fast as she could, grabbing ahold of Chara's tail and pulling with all of her might, which allowed her to force his tail to stretch out, allowing her to move just enough so that she was out of the way. The attack missed Frisk, and with her out of the way, instead hit Chara's tail, cutting the white furry appendage in half, and releasing Frisk from Chara's choking grip. Chara's eyes widened as he felt his tail being cut off, and gave a screech of pain as his tail began to spray a familiar black inky blood.

Frisk got behind Chara while he was still screaming in pain from cutting off his own tail and hit him hard in the back, sending him flying back a good distance. Chara groaned and growled in pain as he was barely able to stop himself from going much further and turned around to look at Frisk, holding his sword up weakly to try to make another attack. "I... can't... lose!" he shouted as he began to charge for to try and hit Frisk again.

Just as he was getting with in striking distance, he was suddenly covered with a blue aura, and his entire body suddenly was hurled to the left, crashing into the forcefield with great force. Before having any time to figure out what had just happened, he was flung to the right, crashing into the barrier once again. Then he was thrown straight up into the air, where he was held against the top of the forcefield helplessly.

"Th-that must be the Soul of Integrity!" Alphys exclaimed as everyone watching stared as Chara struggled to break out of the hold to get back to the ground, being unable to do so.

"Then... all six of the Human souls have rebelled!" Toriel exclaimed in surprise. "And... that must mean-"

"Chara is done for." Sans finished for her as he watched on, staring at frisk with a proud toothy grin on his face. Never had he felt so proud of Frisk, standing up to the one that caused them so much pain, and is about to beat him after a seemingly endless fight.

Chara came flying towards the floor with great speed, slamming down into it with a loud crash. Seeing the perfect opportunity then and there, Frisk charged forward and slapped Chara across the face over and over and over again with her stick, which was starting to crack from the amount of stress that was put on it throughout the entire fight.

She struck him once vertically upwards on the chin, which thanks to the combination of help from the final soul to rebel, Chara flipped on his back and landed hard. Frisk brought her stick into her hands and held it like a baseball bat, ready to deliver the final strike. Knowing exactly what to do, the Soul of Integrity had Chara flip over towards Frisk, and just before he hit the ground, Frisk struck him on the chin again with every ounce of strength she could muster, her stick shattering into hundreds of pieces from the force of the attack.

Chara was knocked onto his feet and turned around so that his back was facing Frisk from the force of the hit. Chara began to stumble forward and to the sides, his sword wobbling in his hand as he was trying desperately to stay up. His wobbling ceased and he remained still for a few seconds before he let go of the sword, which once again fell with a loud clang. Just a couple seconds later, Chara fell forward, landing on his face quietly and without making any other movements.

There was silence in the entire room, nobody daring to make a sound aside from Frisk's heavy, tired breathing as she stumbled back, leaning on the forcefield, barely able to stand. It was such a tiring battle that she almost certainly lost... but thanks to her determination and the help of the other Human Souls, it seemed like the battle was finally over.

"...O... oh my God... she... she did it." Alphys said in shock. After a few seconds, Alphys began to cheer and jump around ecstatically. "She did it! She really did it! She beat Chara!"

"Nyeh heh heh! I never lost faith in you for a second, Frisk!" Papyrus said as he jumped for joy just like Alphys. "I knew that you would defeat this other human no matter how much it took!"

Undyne gave a sigh of relief before her one visible eye got an angry, yet happy fire inside of it. "God damn you, Frisk!" she shouted. "Next time, warn us when you're going to try to worry us sick, why don't you?!"

Sans chuckled as Undyne said that. Despite this, he was just as worried as Undyne was throughout the whole battle. "I will admit, that was pretty incredible work, kid." he said while giving a thumbs up. "I don't think I could have done any better myself."

Asgore and Toriel remained quiet. They were happy that Frisk won, and that this nightmare could finally end... but at the same time... seeing their adopted son just laying there, presumably unconscious... "...All the souls have rebelled... it seems... that Chara has lost this fight..." Asgore said.

"...And... what about our son?" Toriel questioned as both Monsters looked on quietly. "Is... is he..."

Asriel looked on, staring at Frisk as she tried to rest as best as she could after such a fight. "...Is... it finally over now?" Asriel questioned in a soft whisper.

Frisk looked over at Asriel, having been the only one that heard what he had asked. Both of them stared at each other for the longest time, Frisk really taking time to study that sweet, friendly face of Asriel's. She gave a sigh, and to Asriel's shock, she shook her head and looked back at Chara. Despite him being down and not moving at the moment, Frisk knew that this battle wasn't over yet.

The cheering of Frisk's friends soon faded, and all attention went back to the forcefield as, to the shock and horror of all of Frisk's friends, Chara began to slowly get back up, having to grab his sword and stick it in the ground to use as support as he got up. He was badly injured, and barely able to move, but he was still up nonetheless... only this time, now Frisk didn't have a weapon to fight against him.

"...So... you've actually done it... you've actually forced me to this point..." Chara started, not even turning around to face Frisk. "...Frisk... I... I didn't want to do this... after you talking so much about... wanting to save me... and after my time of being with my brother, and seeing my parents once more... I didn't..." He gave a sigh and shook his head. "...I didn't want to show you this side of me again... especially now that I'm in this form... but... it appears... you've left me no other alternative."

Frisk waited quietly, staying near the forcefield as Chara continued to speak. "...As you are aware... the souls of a human each have a certain color... these colors representing a certain dominant trait of that person... for example... your soul and my soul are both red... signifying our determination... the yellow soul signifies justice... the green soul signifies kindness... and you get the basic idea..." Chara slowly turned around to look at Frisk.

"...Tell me... do you know what Black means?"

Chara raised his sword up into the air, and something began to happen. He began to glow the color of every single soul of him, except for that of his own, but that slowly began to change. As the seconds went on, the glow changed from a variety of colors to a midnight black. Chara's black eyes and red pupils had changed so that the entirety of his eyes glowed nothing but red, as did his mouth, which came together in a somber, dark scowl. His entire body began to be covered in some sort of black mist.

"N-no... Chara! No! Please!" Frisk yelled at him. "Don't do this!" Chara paid no heed. Instead, he held his left hand out as he continued to change, letting Frisk see his soul again, which was still covered in almost all black, but had a few red spots here and there. As Chara continued to change, however, the red spots on his soul began to get covered up by the black, just like the rest of his soul. In a matter of seconds, there wasn't a single speck of red to be seen on the soul, and Chara's entire body was now a horrible pitch black color, his mouth and eyes seething red like a burning inferno.

Asriel, Toriel and Asgore dared not to say anything, their hearts pounding in terror and grief of what had just happened. There was no describing how much it hurt, seeing Chara do this to himself.

"...Chara... wh... what have you done..." Frisk whispered in shock as Chara now stood there, seemingly completely in tact, as if their previous fighting hadn't even happened.

"...Black means hatred." Chara spoke, his voice overwhelmingly sinister and unbearably hateful. "...And I have quite a lot of it to share... you see, it wasn't my determination that kept me existing, even when my brother was killed... it's not my determination that keeps me here now, even when I should be dead... it's my hatred... my hatred for the ones that ruined my life, and took my brother's."

"...Is this what you consider justice?" Frisk questioned, shaking a bit. "...You would become no better than the ones who ruined your life... just to prove a point?"

"...This was never about being better than them." Chara answered as he looked at his completely black hand. "It's about cleansing the world of all the filthy humans... my father didn't have the guts to do it, and all of the other humans that have tried have failed... I'm going to be the one who finishes it."

"I won't let you do that, Chara." Frisk said as she forced herself to get away from the forcefield, even though she was tired and in a lot of pain from the earlier battle. "I'll... I'll stop you... I have to..."

"Sorry, Frisk... but I'm done with letting you have a choice." Chara said as he appeared beside Frisk in the blink of an eye and kicked her hard in the back, sending her flying at an incredible speed before she slammed into the forcefield with great force.

"No! Frisk!" Papyrus cried out.

"H-how is that p-possible?" Alphys asked in shock. "Th-the souls were sup-p-p-posed to weaken him... b-but now he seems to be stronger than ever!"

"His hatred is too strong..." Toriel said in disbelief. "My son... what have you become..."

Chara went over to Frisk and turned her around so that she was sitting on the floor and looking at him. "...Looks like this is the end now, Frisk." he said. "...You've survived all my other attacks... but not this time... you're not getting out of this one." He held his sword up, ready to stab Frisk, and the entire sword was being covered by a black aura, just like Chara.

"NO!" Undyne yelled as she got right up to the barrier. "Frisk! You can't let yourself get beaten now!"

"You have to defeat him! You can't die now!" Papyrus shouted.

"Child! If you die now, all of humanity will be destroyed!" Asgore yelled.

Frisk listened in as her friends tried to egg her to go on, but their voices were becoming more and more blurry as the seconds went on. Frisk didn't want to give up, but she was so tired and in so much pain... and now, she didn't even have a weapon to fight Chara. She was at the end of her rope, and she didn't see any way of turning things around.

"...Goodbye... Frisk." Chara said as he began to thrust his sword down. Time seemed to slow down for Frisk as she watched as the blade, seemingly slowly, began to head to finish her off. Unable to do much of anything, apologizing to everyone in the world that she had failed, she closed her eyes, waiting for the blade to once again pierce her heart.


	20. Coming Down

Chapter 19

Coming Down

It seemed like an eternity as Frisk sat there, her eyes closed as she was waiting for Chara to finish her off, but the life ending attack wasn't coming... everything had gone quiet, and Frisk didn't feel anything.

She wasn't sure of how long she was waiting until she opened her eyes to look up to Chara, to find out why he wasn't trying to kill her. When she did, the entire world around her seemed to have changed to various shades of black and white. Chara was still there, his blade just inches away from slashing through her chest, but he didn't go any further. He appeared to have been frozen in place.

She looked back at to the outside of the forcefield, where Asriel and the rest of Frisk's friends stood. They didn't appear to be saying anything, and they too seemed to be frozen in place like Chara; some covering their eyes, unable to watch what was about to happen to Frisk, Undyne grasping at the forcefield, as if to make one last final attempt to break in, and Toriel stretching her hand out, as if to try to reach for either Chara or Frisk.

"...Wh... what is this?" Frisk questioned as she looked around. Nothing appeared to be moving at all. Everyone but her seemed to have been trapped at the sudden pause of time. "...Is... is this a dream... or... was I already killed?"

Assuming that she had already been killed, and this was just some Purgatory, she shook her head with a sigh and grasped her head with her hands, cursing at herself for failing to defeat Chara. She had given it everything she had, but even with the help of the other souls, she just wasn't able to stop him... "I'm sorry... everyone..." Frisk whispered. "...I let you all down..."

"Yer not just gonna let this fella kill you here and now, are ya?" came a young boy's voice, speaking like a stereotypical cowboy.

"...Wh... what?" Frisk questioned slowly as she looked up again. Everything around her seemed to have disappeared. Instead, standing in front of her was a kid that looked to be just slightly older than her. He was entirely in western clothes, which was complimented by him wearing a brown cowboy hat, which covered a majority of his blonde hair, and had a little lasso in one hand and an empty gun in the other. His chest seemed to glow a bright yellow color.

"Howdy there, partner." the boy said with a friendly, confident smile, tipping his hat a bit in greeting. "Y'all don't look like yer having a very good time at the moment, huh?"

"Wha... who... who are you?" Frisk asked as she stared at the boy. "How did you get here... wh-where is here? How did i get here? Where am I?"

"Woah, woah, woah. Slow it down there, partner." the boy said as he put his hand on her shoulder and patted it to keep her calm. "Quite a mighty howdy-do you got there, bombarding little old me with questions right off the bat. Not even giving me a thanks for saving you from them giant purple balls earlier in the fight."

"Saving me... from..." Frisk looked at the boy and looked closer at the glow he had at his chest, noticing what appeared to be the shape of a heart from inside his chest. "...You... you're one of the souls... you're the Human Soul of Justice."

"Yep. That's my title." the boy said with a nod. "Don't wear it out."

"But... how... how are you here right now? I... I thought that you and all the other souls were still trapped inside Chara."

"We are, unfortunately." the Soul of Justice said with a shrug as he took out his empty gun and began to casually spin it around on his index finger, as if there was nothing wrong at the moment. "But as you can clearly see, the big guy's having a little bit of an issue with insubordination on our part. We decided that since we had already kicked him around a little bit, we might as well pay a visit to you and kick you back into shape."

"'We'? You mean... you mean that the other souls are here as well?" Frisk questioned.

As she said that, a young girl, looking to be around the same age as Frisk, walked to the left of the Soul of Justice. She wore a green apron that had a number of brown and white stains on it over a dazzling white dress, her long black hair flowing despite there being no wind. In her hand, she held a burnt pan that smelled of a strange combination of pie crust, snails and butterscotch. Her chest was glowing just like the Soul of Justice's, but instead of a bright yellow, hers glowed a gentle mint green. "We saw you in so much pain... we couldn't just leave you alone." she said in a caring, sweet voice.

"Yeah, Kindness is right. We can't just let this happen to ya, especially given the circumstances here." Justice said as he knelt by Frisk. "Planning on giving up and just letting the big mean son of a gun take yer soul too, eh?"

"N... no... I don't want to give up... but... I..." Frisk gave a sigh and shook her head. "...I can't do anything more... I... I already gave that battle absolutely everything I had... and even after all of that... I still can't beat him... his hatred is just too strong..."

"Now that don't sound very determined of you." Justice said as he sat down. "Yer supposed to be this determined girl, who would never give up no matter how hard things get, aren't ya?"

"You can't give up now." Kindness said as she took Frisk's hand and began to pull her up to her feet. "You've suffered through so much in this fight, and we went through heck to weaken Chara so you can continue fighting... you're not going to let that all go to waste, are you?"

"But... don't you see what he was able to do?" Frisk questioned. "Even after him becoming so weak with you guys rebelling, Chara's hatred was able to reverse all of that... at this rate, I'm sure that he's even stronger than before you started to fight back in the first place... I... I don't have anything anymore. How can I even attempt to beat him?"

"Now that doesn't sound like the individual we've been observing throughout all of her misadventures." came another voice, more mature than the other two. Another one of the souls appeared, looking to be at least 13-years-old, and his chest glowing purple. He wore a pair of khaki pants and a striped button-up shirt, holding a purple notebook that seemed pretty badly damaged, while his other fidgeted around with his purple, cloudy glasses. "We've seen you overcome many different obstacles, no matter how bad the situation was. You've befriended all of the Monsters that tried to capture and/or destroy you. You saved Asriel when there was virtually no hope left for him. You even battled a giant, monstrous flower after it absorbed us and was able to defeat it, for goodness sake."

Frisk looked at the new person and processed what he had just said about beating a giant flower that absorbed the Human Souls. She tried as best as she could to remember that, but she had no recollection of it. "...Did... did you make that last part up?" she questioned.

"...Do you recollect nothing from your other previous runs in the Underground?" the Soul of Perseverance questioned.

"...Was this a part of Chara having me kill everything, or..."

"She doesn't remember it, Perseverance." Justice said as he waved his hand dismissively. "Let's not spend an hour lecturing her about it."

"I think what he's trying to say is... you've already been through a lot of things, whether you remember all of them or not." Kindness said as she gave her a friendly pat on the back. "We know you can do it because you've done things that nobody should ever be capable of doing before... if you can do it then, you can do it now."

"But... when I faced off against Asriel... and while we were battling Chara earlier... I was only able to succeed because I had my friends... and you guys helping me." Frisk said. "...This time... I'm all by myself. Now that all of that hatred is there inside him-"

"What do you think we're doing here, hm?" came another girl's voice as another one of the souls danced in, her chest glowing a royal blue color. Seeming to be older than the others, but younger than the Soul of Perseverance, she was dressed entirely in a ballerina outfit, her tutu and dance shoes being a dark shade of blue while the rest of her outfit was lighter. She had jet black hair that was tied into a bun at the top. "You think that we're not doing anything by being here, trying to get you back on your feet?"

"We've always been with you since the beginning of this confrontation, Frisk." Perseverance said as he took off his glasses and began to wipe the lenses in an attempt to take off some of the cloudiness in them. "Maybe not physically, but in our essence, we've been there, rooting for you the whole time."

"...I... I know you want me to keep going... I want to keep going too... but what am I supposed to do?" Frisk questioned. "I'm barely able to move a muscle in my body now... I don't even have a weapon to fight him with anymore."

Another soul in his teen years came running in and grabbed Perseverance from behind, holding him in a head lock. He was wearing a plain white t-shirt with the sleeves ripped off, and a pair of blue jeans that were torn in several areas. He also had an orange bandana on his head and two orange, sturdy gloves to compliment the orange glow on his chest. "You gotta do what you do in every other fight. Just gotta keep getting up and getting up until you win, right?"

"Yes, yes, whatever you say." Perseverance said as he began to try to free himself out of the Soul of Bravery's hold. "Now would you please let go of me? You know how much I hate it when you do this."

Finally, after patiently waiting for the others to say their greetings, the final Soul, the Soul of Patience, walked over. She looked to be no older than 4-years-old, wearing an adorable light blue and white dress, her chest glowing a bright blue color. To compliment this, she wore a light blue ribbon in her blonde hair, which she played with with her toy knife. "If you give up now, then everyone is doomed." she said in an adorable voice. "And I'm not going to watch him destroy everything I loved."

Frisk was silent as she looked at all of their faces. Each of them held their own different emotions, but all of them were telling her the same thing; she had to get up and keep fighting. She couldn't afford to give up now, not when there was so much riding on this battle.

"...I... I don't get it." Frisk said as she looked at all of them curiously. "...You all seem to be familiar with some of my past adventures, whether or not you were there, even if I don't remember some of them... you... you must be aware of what Chara and I did before this all started."

All of the souls looked at each other, hesitating to answer that question. "...We never like to think about it..." the Soul of Integrity said as she looked back at Frisk. "...But yes... we also saw what you and Chara had done... and we never forgot it... even if everyone else did."

"...And... you are aware of all the pain that I caused with Chara." Frisk went on. "...If you guys know about that... if you know about what I had done... why are you helping me now? You can't honestly think that I deserve your help..."

"Deserve?" Bravery questioned. "You think that what's happening now is all because someone deserves it?"

"Whether or not we believe you deserve our help is completely irrelevant, young one." Perseverance said. "We're not doing this based on whether you deserve it or not, nor are we doing this because we believe Chara deserves to fail."

"We're doing this because we care about you." Kindness said with a smile. "Just like you care for all of the monsters and other humans."

"...C... care...?" Frisk asked as she looked down, a strange feeling of deja vu coming to her as she heard the word care.

"Darn tootin', we do." Justice said. "If you look at in from a certain point of view, you could almost say that we're our own little unofficial family."

"And if that's the case... then one of our family members is in trouble... and he can't get out of it by himself." Patience said.

"And you're the only other one who can help him." Integrity said. "...Do you understand that now?"

"Un... der... stand..." Frisk said as she began to trail off with her thoughts. At that moment, it seemed like she could suddenly see every moment of what happened in her Genocide Run quite clearly. She could see the meeting of Chara, him teaching her what he wanted her to do, all of the time that they had spent together, whether it be killing monsters, robbing abandoned shops, or in one case that she saw, just taking a break and relaxing for a little bit before continuing on with their mission.

She also began to vividly see all of the moments of the current fight again. Most importantly, she recalled the number of times Chara could have killed her during the fight, but hesitated. Him giving her time to cook and eat the noodles... allowing her to take her turns without any interruptions... suddenly, as all of these memories began to play out in her head, she finally realized just why she was trying.

 _You have every right to hate Chara, you realize that? We're talking about a being who tricked you, made you kill hundreds upon hundreds of monsters, and even forced you to barter your soul to make everything right... any other person would most certainly carry a strong hatred and want to destroy Chara... but yet you would believe that you could 'save' him, and turn this hatred of his around?_

She remembered that question that Darkeol had left her before she entered Chara's room. She remembered not being able to come up with an answer, despite being so close to the end... and suddenly, as she spoke with the other souls, it all became clear to her.

"Y... yes... I understand now." Frisk said as she looked up at all of the other souls. "I now understand what Darkeol was trying to tell me."

All of the other souls quietly listened on, allowing her to speak on as she stood. "...When I first entered this room... I believed that I was only doing it because every person should have a chance to change, including Chara... then I began to think that I was just doing it because I promised Asriel, my mother and Asgore that I would try to save him... but... now I know... I know the reason I want to save Chara now... it's the same reason why he couldn't bring himself to kill me so many times... the same reason why he brought his brother back, even if he knew what it would cost him."

She looked at all of the souls, her eyes regaining a familiar determined flare to them, that made all of the other souls smile with pride. "...I know why I want to save Chara... and no matter how hard it gets, I'm never going to give up, not until the very end!"

"Yeehaw! Now that's what we want to hear from you!" Justice said as he gave her a good slap on the back of the shoulder. It stung, but Frisk didn't pay too much attention to it, knowing that he was just trying to be friendly.

"And we're going to stand up with you." Patience said with a grin on her face. "We're going to fight with you until the end."

"We'll be able to provide assistance when the time comes." Perseverance said as he began to write something in the notebook, clearly planning something out. "The six of us will be able to keep you from getting killed by him, but you have to be the one to open his eyes. Do you understand me?"

"Yes... I understand. And I'm ready." Frisk said with a nod.

Bravery gave a nod and looked at everybody. "So then... we all ready to get to work?"

"W-wait!" Frisk exclaimed, making all of the souls look back to her. There were so many questions she wanted to ask them, but since she knew she couldn't spend much longer there, she instead decided to ask just one question over all the others.

"...What are your names?"

The souls looked at each other and back at Frisk. The Soul of Patience gave a smile and stepped forward to introduce herself first. "My name is Lila."

The Soul of Bravery took a step forward next, hitting his gloved hands together like he was ready to brawl. "They call me Orlando."

The Soul of Integrity was next as she took a step forward, gave a little ballerina spin and curtsied politely. "You may call me Brianna."

Next up was the Soul of Perseverance, who stepped forward and looked up into the sky, thinking before speaking. "Aside from less favorable nicknames I've been given by my peers... I go by Paul."

Up next came the Soul of Kindness, stepping forward and giving a friendly wave. "I'm Grace. Glad to meet you."

Finally, the Soul of Justice came forward and gave another tip of his hate in greeting. "Th' name's York. But you can call me Sheriff York, if you like."

Frisk looked at all of the other souls and gave a smile. To the very least, now she knows their names. "Frisk." she introduced herself simply yet happily.

All the other souls gave smiles as well. "Well then, Frisk... I believe it's time we got to work now." Grace said as she and the others began to fade away, the only parts of them that weren't fading being the hearts that represented their souls.

Frisk gave a nod and closed her eyes, focusing all of her attention on where she would be and what she would do as soon as she opened her eyes again. " _Don't give up... don't ever give up... don't... ever..._ "

Her eyes shot wide open, and at that instant, she was back where she originally was, sitting seemingly helpless at the wall of the forcefield as Chara, infused with the power of a hatred far beyond the capacities of any human, inches away from stabbing her and taking her soul. The only difference is that now, Frisk's determination was burning harder than ever. Having no other alternative, she grabbed Chara's sword and held it back with all of her might, keeping the blade from piercing through her flesh by just mere inches.

All of Frisk's friends gave a collective gasp of shock as Frisk was able to stop the attack cold in it's tracks. "What?! Impossible!" Chara yelled in disbelief as Frisk held on to the edge of the sword, trying with all of her might to keep it away from her.

Chara, in return, put all of his force into trying to push the blade down upon Frisk, but he couldn't do it. Even with his hatred giving him power, he found himself unable to overpower Frisk, despite her current physical state.

"Rrrrgh... you just don't know when to give up, do you?" Chara growled in annoyance. "You're making this so much more difficult than it has to be for all of us... why don't you just accept your defeat and let me take your soul?!" He grabbed the handle of his sword with both of his hands and began to lean into it, letting his weight assist him in pushing the sword towards Frisk, which allowed the sword to move just a tad bit closer to Frisk's chest.

"N...no... I... won't... ever... give... up!" Frisk said as she continued to hold the sword back with all of her might. As she did, she began to be surrounded by a shining white light that changed periodically into a variety of different colors, one for each of the other Human Souls, including her own burning fiery red color.

"Wh... what's going on?" Chara questioned. "There's no way you should be able to stop this... my hatred has given me power far beyond any determination!"

"We know... what you plan to do with my soul..." Frisk said as she continued to push the sword back with all of her might. The blade wasn't even an inch away from her chest, but no matter how hard Chara tried, he couldn't move it any farther forward. "We... can't... let... you have it... we won't let you take it!"

"'We'?! What do you mean-" Chara's eyes widened as he finally noticed the multi-colored glow that was surrounding her as she continued to hold his sword back. In shock, he looked at his black chest, seeing that even past all of that darkness, the Human Souls were once again glowing inside of his chest. "No... no no no no no! That's not possible!" he cried out as he continued to attempt to stab Frisk with all he could. "My hatred should be suppressing them! They should be obeying me!"

"You're... wrong... you've always been wrong." Frisk growled. "We're fighting... for the lives and hopes of everyone in the world... we... cannot... we will not lose to you!" She pressed back even harder, even managing to move the blade just a few centimeters away from herself. Both Chara and Frisk's arms began to shake from the strain of trying to overpower the other.

As they both continued to push on the blade, the sword's yellow eye widened, its pupil shrinking to a tiny black dot as the sword began to crack from the pressure of both forces. The bottom of the sword began to crack with a sinister dark purple aura emanating from the cracks, while the top of the blade was cracking and giving off a powerful, unbearably bright glow through the cracks.

The cracks met each other at the exact center of the sword. As they did, both Chara and Frisk could sense a mighty force building up in the center of the sword as the power of the conflict between Chara's hatred and the hope of Frisk and all the other Human Souls was becoming too much for the sword to handle.

"Wh-what's going on?! What is this?!" Chara demanded. He didn't have to wait long, as eventually, the sword could no longer handle the power, and released it all in an extremely powerful explosion, which shattered the sword into millions of pieces and vaporized it.

The entire area trapped around the forcefield was completely covered by a white, unbearably bright light. The force of the power that had just been released all at once was so great, that even the forcefield that kept anyone from interfering with the fight was unable to withstand its mighty force. In a few seconds, the forcefield shattered and dispersed, releasing the bright light all throughout the room. All of Frisk's friends had to shield their eyes from the explosion, as they would most certainly have gone blind had they not.

Both Chara and Frisk were sent flying in opposite directions from the force of the explosion. Frisk crashed straight into the door that led out of the room, which only was able to stand from the force due to Darkeol sealing it down. Chara, meanwhile, had crashed into the wall, almost going straight through it from the force of his fall. Both fell to the ground on their stomachs, in agonizing pain and unable to move.

"Frisk!" all of Frisk's friends yelled as they all ran over to her. Toriel ran to Frisk and knelt by her, gently lifting her head a little bit with her hands. "Frisk. Are you ok, my child?" she asked.

"...M... M... Mo... Mom..." Frisk said weakly as she tried to move, but couldn't. A few tears escaped her eyes from the excruciating pain she was in. "I... c... can't... move..."

"It's ok, dear... it's ok." Toriel said as she gently picked Frisk up and held her. "I have you now, my child... everything will be ok."

Asriel, meanwhile, had gone over to Chara. "Ch-Chara." he said as he put his hand on Chara's shoulder and tried to shake him a little bit. "Come on, Chara! Say something!"

Chara, hearing his brother's voice, slowly looked up at Asriel. Seeing his brother's caring eyes, the black mist that covered him faded away. "A... Asriel..." he whispered weakly as put his hand gently on Asriel's little shoulder. "...As... riel..."

Everyone's little reunion didn't last long, as just a mere matter of seconds later, the entire building began to shake, loud crashing sounds being heard from below and above. "Wh... what's happening?! What's going on?!" Undyne exclaimed as the building trembled.

"Oh no..." Alphys said as she looked at the ceiling above them. "G-guys! The building m-m-must not have been a-able to take the force of the explosion! I-It's starting to collapse!"

"What?!" Asgore exclaimed as the shaking of the building began to worsen.

"A-a-at this rate, I-I don't think this building can stand for m-more than a couple minutes!" Alphys exclaimed in a panic.

"Then we can't stay here." Sans said as he looked at all of Frisk's friends. "Come on! We gotta get out of here, now!"

"B-but what about the door?!" Papyrus questioned. "Darkeol said that he was going to seal it so that nobody would be able to-"

"Oh, forget the door! I'm not going to die here because of some damn door!" Undyne yelled as she began to slam her body into the wall next to the door, which was starting to crack with each time Undyne rammed into it.

Asriel looked around in the doomed building before looking back at Chara. "Chara, come on! We have to get out of here, now!" Asriel said as he took ahold of Chara's hand and tried to pull him up to no avail. "Chara, please! The building is coming down!"

"Asriel... forget about me." Chara said weakly as he looked at his brother trying to help him up. "You already died once... because of me... I won't let that happen again... go... get out of here before this building kills you!"

"No!" Asriel yelled as he didn't stop trying to help Chara. "We promised each other that we would stick together no matter what! I won't leave you here!"

Asgore and Toriel both looked back at Chara and Asriel, seeing what was going on. Their eyes widened as they saw the ceiling above the two of them beginning to crack, ready to come down on both of them. "Chara! Asriel!" they both yelled.

Both Chara and Asriel looked up, their eyes widening as they saw the ceiling above them begin to collapse, falling straight down towards the two. Asriel was frozen in place as he watched the falling rubble heading straight for them, his heart pounding at the thought that he was going to die again.

"No! Not again!" Chara yelled as he was suddenly filled with a new strength from his desire to save his brother. While still not able to move much himself, with whatever strength he had, he grabbed Asriel by the shirt and threw him towards Frisk and her friends, safely out of harm's way. When Chara knew his brother still had a chance to make it out, he looked back at the rubble falling down, just having enough time to close his eyes and attempt to shield his face from the rubble as it came crashing down on him.

"Chara!" Asriel cried out in horror, watching as his view of his brother was quickly disappearing under the rubble that now trapped him.

"Ch-Chara..." Frisk whispered weakly as she buried her face in Toriel's cloth in sadness and fear.

Undyne gave a yell as she crashed into the wall again, the wall finally breaking down from her strength. "Come on! Let's go!" she yelled as she began to run as quickly as she could, all of Frisk's friends following her, except for Asriel, Toriel and Asgore. Frisk remained in Toriel's hold, looking around as the building continued to come down.

"Chara! Chara!" Asriel cried out as he tried to get to the rubble that held Chara down. Asgore took ahold of his son and held him away from it.

"My son, there's no time!" Asgore said. "We have to get out of here before this building collapses!"

"Chara needs me!" Asriel yelled as he tried to pull away from Asgore. "I can't leave him!"

"There's nothing more we can do, Asriel!" Toriel called to him. "If we stay in here, we're going to die! Is that what Chara would want?!"

Asriel stopped trying to move away from Asgore when Toriel had said that. He stared at the rubble as he remembered promising Chara that he would stay safe, no matter what happened to Chara. Now Asriel finally understood what Chara meant. He was telling Asriel to stay alive, even if it meant having to leave Chara to do so.

"Asriel... please... come with us." Frisk said weakly. "...Chara... wouldn't want you to... die again... he'd want you to stay alive... please..."

Asriel looked at the rubble again, knowing that Frisk and his parents were right. As much as he didn't like to admit it, Chara would want Asriel to escape, whether or not Chara was able to or not. "...I'm sorry... Chara..." Asriel said as a few tears escaped his eyes before he turned around and began to run out of the room. Seeing Asriel run, Toriel and Asgore followed him out of the room.

"What took you so long?!" Sans questioned, as he and the others had been waiting for them on the first floor. "Come on, come on, come on! Let's go!"

Everyone began to run out of the door of the building. Alphys was the first one to run out, followed by Undyne right behind her. Papyrus ran out with them. Sans ran just outside the door and turned back to Toriel, Asgore, Asriel and Frisk, and began to gesture them to hurry up. "Come on, come on! We don't have much time!"

Toriel was running as fast as she could to get to the door. Just when she thought that she would be able to get herself and Frisk out of there on time, she heard the sound of falling debris right above her. "Look out!" Asgore yelled as he swiftly took ahold of Toriel and pulled her and Frisk out of the way, just in time as the falling rubble began to land on the ground with a crash, blocking off the door.

Asriel, Asgore, Toriel and Frisk looked helplessly in shock as their way out of there was completely blocked off. They wouldn't be able to move all of that rubble in time before the building collapsed. "Wh-what do we do?" Frisk asked as she began to shake in Toriel's hold.

"That can't be the only exit." Asgore said "There... there has to be another way out of here."

Asriel looked around and then he remembered that Chara had shown him a number of emergency exits just last night. If they were lucky, they might be able to get to one of the emergency exits before the building came down. "I know another way!" he said as he began to run to the direction, recalling where Chara had taken him. "Hurry! Follow me!" Asgore and Toriel, having no other alternative, followed their son.

They ran as fast as they could, the building shaking and crumbling all around them. The ceiling above them cracked and shattered, threatening to come down on them any second. The thought of the building toppling on them at any moment only inspired them to run faster, and hopefully be able to reach the exit before the building came tumbling down.

"There! There it is!" Asriel shouted as a door came into sight. "Come on! Hurry!" They ran as fast as they could, hoping to reach the door while they still had the chance.

As they were approaching the door, however, part of the ceiling above them caved in and collapsed, blocking off that door with the rubble that fell. "No!" Asriel yelled as he saw they were blocked off again.

Asriel turned quickly to try to get to another one of the exits that Chara had shown him the night before, but the ceiling above the way there collapsed, blocking them off once again. "Oh no... we're trapped..." Frisk whimpered as she buried her face into Toriel's cloth, shaking in fear.

"No... no..." Asriel said as he fell to his knees and looked down. "...This is all my fault... I shouldn't have hesitated... I should have just left when Chara told me to..."

"Oh, Asriel..." Toriel said as she and Asgore huddled up around Asriel, and both hugged him. "This isn't your fault, my child..."

Asgore looked around as he held Frisk, his wife and son, watching as the building around them continued to fall. He noticed the ceiling directly above them begin to crack. Seemed like they weren't going to have to wait for the whole building to come down. "...I guess... if I am to spend my last moments here... I would spend them no other way." he said, his voice scared, yet also accepting of what would come next.

"S... so... this is it?" Frisk questioned. "Are we... are we going to die here?" Nobody answered her question, but she knew the answer already. They had come so far to stop Chara and save humanity... and now, it looked like they were going to die for their efforts.

"Mom... Dad..." Asriel said as he began to cry in their hold. "I'm... I'm so sorry... for everything."

"It's ok, my child." Toriel said gently as she petted Asriel's head. "We understand... this isn't your fault."

"N-no... that's not what I meant." Asriel sobbed. "I... I've done so much... so much that you don't know about... I..."

"Asriel... what do you mean?" Asgore questoined. "What do you mean you've done so much that we don't know about?"

Asriel wanted to answer, to let his family know of the horrible things he had done, but from the sound of crumbling straight above them, there wasn't any time left. The ceiling above them had finally collapsed. The four, knowing that their time was up, held each other tight and closed their eyes, waiting for the end to come.

A familiar roar came as a powerful torrent of water blasted at the incoming rubble, breaking it into dust and tiny pieces that harmlessly bounced off of the four. All four of them looked, surprised as Neptune's Hound appeared, roaring. "N-Neptune's Hound?" Asriel asked in surprise. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

"What does it look like he's doing?!" came Hothead's voice as he ran to the rubble that blocked off the door and began to try to move whatever he could. "We're saving your lives, of course!"

"Hothead..." Frisk whispered as she watched Hothead attempt to free the way to the door. Neptune's Hound ran over and helped Hothead by smashing and moving all of the rubble he possibly could. Illusionist also appeared out of the blue and began to try to move whatever rubble it could, which wasn't very much, given its small physical strength. In a matter of seconds, the door had been freed.

"How's the weather over there, dumbasses? Let's go! Come on!" Hothead yelled as he and Neptune's Hound quickly ran out. Having another opportunity, Toriel held Frisk tight as she, Asgore and Asriel swiftly got up and ran for the door, this time being able to make it out.

"Th-they got them!" Alphys said as she and the others watched the Dreemurrs, Frisk and Chara's creations rush out of the building.

"It's coming down! Run!" Hothead yelled as all of them ran as far away from the building as they possibly could, just making it to a safe range as the building finally came toppling down.

All of them stood where they were and watched as the dust and debris rose from the collapsing of the building. It seemed hopeless at one point, but everyone was able to make it out, safe and sound... everyone except...

"We'll... go through the rubble, see if we can find him." Hothead said to Asgore, Toriel and Asriel. "...If he was in his demon form at the time of the building collapsing... there may be a chance he's still alive."

"You really think so?" Asgore questioned, hoping that by some miracle, Chara managed to survive.

"I wouldn't get my hopes up quite yet... but given how much punishment Frisk was able to take, it wouldn't surprise me if he's alive." Hothead answered. "...We'll let you know when we find him."

Toriel watched as Hothead, Illusionist and Neptune's Hound went to the ruins of the building and began to search through them, looking to find Chara. "...Rest now, my dear." she said as she laid Frisk down on the ground and began to heal her. "...I will heal you, my child."

Frisk gave a comfortable sigh and closed her eyes as she felt Toriel begin to heal her. It felt so nice to be with her mother again, especially after such an impossible fight. She drifted off and fell asleep, knowing that she was once again safe with her friends and family.


	21. Another Chance

Chapter 20

Another Chance

Frisk wasn't exactly sure how long she had been asleep. She was able to figure out that it wasn't for very long, however, as she was still laying on the ground, a ways away from the ruins of the building. Hothead, Neptune's Hound and Illusionist were still digging through the rubble, trying to find where Chara was, but it didn't seem like they were having any luck at the moment.

"Any luck yet?" Hothead called to the other two as he picked up the remains of a completely trashed couch and tossed them to the side. Both Neptune's Hound and Illusionist looked at Hothead and shook their heads as they continued looking. Hothead gave an irritated growl and continued looking. "Body's just don't disappear like that. Keep looking. He's gotta be under here somewhere."

Deciding that she would be better off just leaving those three to continue their search, she looked around to see what all of her friends were up to. Sans and Papyrus were standing by a tree, talking amongst themselves. Curious to hear what exactly they were talking about, Frisk listened in as best as she possibly could.

"...It was nothing, Pap. Really." Sans said as he looked up at Papyrus. "I... just had a bit of a bad dream last night, that's all."

"Undyne said that you were acting all weird, and your eye was glowing orange and blue." Papyrus said. "Sans, if there's something wrong, you know you can tell me, right?"

"Yeah... I know..." Sans gave a sigh and looked up in thought. "...You know... I finally came to a decision about you asking if I could teach you to fight like I can." he said as he looked at Papyrus. "I'll teach you how to fight some time after we get home, ok?"

"Really? You will?" Papyrus questioned. "Wowie. You're actually going to teach me... what made you decide that you wanted to teach me how to fight like that?"

"Oh... it was... nothing." Sans said with a shrug, obviously reluctant about giving a straight answer. "I was just thinking while Frisk was fighting Chara, and decided that it would be best if you knew how to fight like me, just in case something like this were to happen again."

"Yes, that sounds like a good idea... but I don't see anything like this happening again any time soon... do you, Sans?"

Sans was silent for the longest time, looking down as if he was trying to think of what he was going to say. Frisk found herself leaning just a little bit closer, waiting for Sans to speak again. She knew it from the first moment of Undyne and her waking up Sans earlier in the morning, but Sans's hesitation to speak now was making it clear to Frisk. Sans obviously knew something that they didn't, and he didn't want any of them to know it.

"Well... not really... but... you just never know." Sans answered after some thought.

Frisk wanted to listen in more on the conversation, see if she could find out what was on Sans's mind, but she decided that they wouldn't like it if they ever found out she was listening in on them, so she instead looked away from them to see if she could find any of her other friends. She looked and saw Alphys and Undyne sitting together on the ground, Undyne quietly wiping down her sword while Alphys nervously twiddled her thumbs, watching as Chara's creations continued to search through the rubble.

"...Y-you know... w-w-we should probably... thank them sometime..." Alphys said as she looked down, knowing that Undyne wasn't going to like the conversation she was bringing up.

"...Who?" Undyne questioned as she looked away from her sword at Alphys.

"Ch... Chara's creations." Alphys said as she looked back at them. "...I mean... Frisk, A-Asgore and his family wouldn't have gotten out i-if it weren't for them... you know?"

Undyne looked back at Hothead, Neptune's Hound and Illusionist for a few seconds before giving a little sigh and getting back to wiping her sword down. "...Maybe." she answered after a few seconds. She clearly wasn't yet over how she was beaten back at Alphys's lab. "...I'm not very good with thank you's."

Alphys gave a nod and looked down and nodded. "Y-yeah... I... guess you aren't, huh?" she said nervously.

Undyne looked at Alphys quietly for a few seconds before giving a sigh and putting her sword away, deciding that she had spent long enough tending to it. "...Speaking of which... I never did properly thank you yet, have I?"

"Th... thank me?" Alphys questioned. "...For... for what?"

"...For saving me back at your lab." Undyne answered. "...As much as I hate to admit it... had you not given Hothead that fake device back there... there's a good chance he would have killed me."

"O-oh... that... y-you know it was nothing, Undyne... as I said, I-I would have done a lot more if I needed to, if it meant saving you."

"I know, Alphys... I know... but that still doesn't change the fact that I owe you for saving my life... and I hate having favors that I don't repay." Undyne put her hand gently on Alphys's shoulder. "If there's anything you want me to do for you, let me know, yes? I'll be more than happy to do it for you, whether or not I owe it to you."

"Th-that's ok, Undyne, r-really... you don't have to do anything for me. I-I'm just happy that we're all alive and still together." Alphys said. There was a few seconds of silence between the two monsters before Alphys sheepishly looked down, a bright crimson blush appearing on her face, her hands starting to get clammy. "...W... well... there... was... something that... I would like to... d-do with you... b-but... it's... not necessarily something you would normally think o-of doing..."

"Oh... really?" Undyne questioned with a raise of her eyebrow and got a little closer to Alphys, which only made Alphys more sheepish, her entire face becoming red with blush. "And what would that be, Alphys?"

Frisk gave a little quiet chuckle there. As much as she would have liked to have listened on to hear what exactly Alphys was about to ask Undyne, she figured that it would be better to let whatever it was be between the two of them. Instead, she turned her head a little further to see Asriel in the hold of both Asgore and Toriel. From the look of how Asriel had his hands over his eyes in the hold, she didn't have to listen in to know that whatever was being talked about there was a very emotional conversation. Nevertheless, she started listening to what was being said between the three.

Asriel was crying, and from what he was saying, Frisk could only assume that Asriel had just told his parents about everything that he had done. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry that I took your souls... I'm sorry that I tried to kill you all... I... I'm sorry that I started all of this." he sobbed. "It's all my fault... if I had just tried to talk Chara out of it, then none of this would have ever happened."

"None of this is your fault, my child." Toriel said gently as she petted Asriel's head to comfort him. "...You don't need to apologize for anything."

"Whatever happened in the past doesn't matter now, my son." Asgore said. "...The only thing that matters now is that you're here... Chara brought you back to us... he brought you home..."

Asriel just silently wept and hugged his mother and father close, as if afraid to let go. Frisk gave a soft smile. It really warmed her heart to see Asriel be back with his family again. It brought her some piece in mind, to think that Asriel, Asgore and Toriel could finally be a family again. Deciding that she had spent enough time just laying down, she slowly began to get up. Her bones and muscles were still sore, but to the very least, any serious physical damage from the confrontation with Chara had been healed.

Asriel was the first to notice Frisk getting up. His crying immediately came to a halt and he gave a little gasp as he saw her stand up. "Frisk!" he called out in surprise as he got out of Asgore and Toriel's hold. He ran to Frisk and hugged her, almost tackling her back to the ground. Frisk just gave a laugh and hugged Asriel back, laughing a little bit from joy of seeing the young Dreemurr again.

Hearing that Frisk was finally up again, everybody ran up to her to make sure she was ok. Asriel gave a little smile and let go of Frisk as Toriel ran to her and hugged her close. "Hey, Mom." Frisk said happily as she hugged her back. "...It's great to be with you again."

"Frisk... you are one tough kid." Undyne said as she gave Frisk a friendly slap on the shoulder, which made Frisk grimace a little bit. "I don't think even I'd be able to take a beating like you took."

Papyrus gave a nod. "You did it, Frisk." he said in his usual cheery attitude. "Of course, there was never a doubt that a friend of I, the Great Papyrus, would be able to defeat him, but still."

"I almost can't believe it after everything that's happened these past couple of days." Asgore said. "Frisk... you did it. You saved everyone... again."

Frisk gave a nod, but then looked down. She wished that she could say that she had saved everyone... but as of right now, she knew that wasn't true. She knew that there was still one person that needed to be saved. Her eyes went back to the ruins of the once tall building and watched on as Hothead, Neptune's Hound and Illusionist continued to search. Chara was in his demon form... he had so much power from his hatred and the other Souls, he should be able to have taken it just fine... but at the same time, he was weakened so much when the building came down...

"...Wh-what's wrong Frisk?" Alphys questioned. "You beat Chara... you saved all of humanity... why do you seem so sad?"

"It's nothing... I..." Frisk shook her head. "It's nothing, really... just thinking of some unfinished business I'll have to finish soon."

"...Speaking of business, my child... there's something we need to discuss." Toriel said with a sigh as she looked at Frisk. "...You see... our house took a lot of damage from what happened when Chara found you in there... a lot of the damages are beyond repair at this point... I... I don't know if the two of us will be able to safely live in that home, given the state of things."

Frisk looked down in thought. "...So... does that mean... we don't have anywhere to go?" she questioned.

"...No, that's not true at all." Asgore said, his eyes lighting up as he took a step forward. "You two don't have to go back to that damaged home if it's not safe, Tori. You and Frisk can come live with me at my house!"

Toriel, Frisk and Asriel all looked at Asgore as he went on, clearly happy about the idea. "My home may not be completely refurbished to be able to accommodate all of us at the moment, but I can easily have that fixed. You, Frisk, Asriel and I can live together, as a... a..."

He trailed off when he saw Toriel look down to the ground. Asgore was unable to see what emotion she had on her face, but seeing her look down immediately reminded Asgore of Toriel's anger to him of what he had done to the other children that had fallen into the Underground a long time ago. "...I mean... if you want to... at least... until you and Frisk can find a... more suitable place to live..." He gave a sigh and looked down and was about to back off, assuming that his offer wasn't going to be taken up.

"...I guessed that this time... would come eventually." Toriel said with a sigh.

"Time? What do you mean?" Asgore questioned.

Toriel was quiet for a few seconds before looking up to Asgore. To his surprise, her eyes weren't filled with hatred or the slightest bit of anger. "...The time... where I would have to forgive you for what you had done." she said.

Asgore, Asriel and Frisk all looked at Toriel with surprised expressions as she went on. "...What you did to those children... cannot be undone... and the consequences of your actions could never be forgotten..." she went on. "...But after everything that's happened now... seeing our children again... having our boy here in our arms now... I just can't stay mad at you anymore..."

"...Tori..." Asgore said softly. This was all feeling like a dream to him. Asriel and Frisk both looked at each other and gave little smiles. They were also happy to see what was happening.

"...I'll accept your offer... Frisk and I will live with you." she said with an agreeing nod. "...If for no other reason... we owe it to our children to give them a full family."

Asgore was completely dumbfounded. He really didn't know what to say about what Toriel had just said. All attention had turned to Frisk, however, when it was seen that she was looking down, tears streaming down her eyes. "Wh... what's wrong, child?" Asgore questioned as he took a knee to look at her, fearing that he may have hurt her with his words somehow. "...Are you not happy with the thought of living with me?"

"N-no... it's not that..." Frisk said through sniffs and snivels. "It's just... I never really had one before..."

"...Never had what?" Asgore questioned. "...A thought of living with me?" He didn't understand what Frisk was trying to tell him.

Frisk looked up at Asgore, and with tears still streaming down her eyes, she gave a happy smile. It was then that Asgore realized that she was crying tears of joy. "...I never had a real father before." she said before she ran to Asgore and hugged him tightly.

Asgore was struck completely silent at Frisk's sudden action. All eyes of Frisk's friends were on her and the King of the Monsters. With his arms shaking, Asgore hugged Frisk close, tears of joy of his own escaping his eyes. "...Child... I don't know... how I could possibly deserve... to be your father..." he said as he tried his best not to burst into tears. "...But I promise you... I'll be the best father that I possibly can be for you..."

All of Frisk's friends smiled at the sight of Frisk and her new father hugging. They embraced each other for a good half a minute or so before they finally let go. Asgore and Toriel both got up and walked to each other, waiting a few seconds before hugging each other close. It had taken so much time, and so many painful events, but Asgore's dream had finally been realized. He was once again reunited with his wife and son, and now even had a new member of the family.

"Wowie... this is... so touching." Papyrus said with a sniffle as he took his scarf and wiped his eyes with it.

"I was wondering when this moment would happen." Sans said with a nod. "...Honestly, it took long enough, I think."

"Just look at him." Undyne said with a smile on her face as she held Alphys close. "...I don't think I've ever seen him so happy before." Alphys just gave a nod and watched on. She was tempted to bring up how she had asked Frisk if she thought Asgore and Toriel would get back together some time, but she kept it to herself.

While their parents hugged, Frisk gave a smile and looked at Asriel. "So... I guess now that makes you my brother, doesn't it?" she questioned.

Asriel gave a little giggle at the thought. "I had always wondered what it would be like to have a sister." he said. "...Thank you, Frisk... none of this would be possible without you."

Noticing what was going on between Frisk and her friends, Hothead and Illusionist stopped momentarily and watched what was going on from the ruins of the building. Hothead gave a little smile and a sniffle as he had tears welling up in his eyes.

Illusionist looked at Hothead and gave a little questioning, silent hum. "What? Me, crying?" Hothead questioned as he wiped his eyes quickly with his hand. "No I'm not. I just got some debris in my eye, that's all."

Neptune's Hound, meanwhile, gave a little irritated growl and a roll of his eyes on the fact that he was getting stuck with continuing to move rubble while Illusionist and Hothead took a break. If he could speak, he would certainly have quite a lot to say about it, but instead, he just kept moving the rubble out, searching for something. His searching came to a halt, however, when he noticed something that was under some rubble that he had just moved.

He wasn't able to see very much of it, as it was buried under a lot of rubble still. What he could see of it, however, was a little hand, covered in debris and slightly bleeding with several cuts and bruises. It clutched on to one of the pieces of debris, as if holding on for dear life. Neptune's Hound stared for a little bit, his eyes widening as he realized that the hand was weakly twitching.

Turning to Illusionist and Hothead, he began to give urgent barks. This got the attention of not just the other two creations, but also from Frisk and all of her friends. All of them watched as Hothead and Illusionist hurried to where Neptune's Hound was standing, and began to swiftly dig up all of the rubble there.

As all of the rubble was clear, the three creations' eyes were met with the sight of Chara laying there, badly damaged. His demon form was now gone, and he now laid there as a child once again. His clothes were torn and soaked in blood, and all parts of his visible flesh were covered in bruises and cuts. His entire body and all of his clothes were covered in dust and debris.

As soon as the rubble on top of him was moved, Chara began to gasp for air and cough furiously, clouds of dust shooting out of his mouth after each cough. He was badly hurt, but he was alive.

"Don't worry, sir. I got ya." Hothead said as he took Chara as gently as he possibly could and lifted him up. Chara tried to scream out in pain, but he couldn't. He just continued to cough and gasp.

Everyone stared in utter disbelief as Hothead carried Chara safely out of the ruins of the fallen building. "Christ Almighty, can nothing kill these kids?" Sans questioned. Between Frisk surviving getting stabbed and blasted in her fight against Chara, and now Chara surviving having a whole building collapse on top of him, he was beginning to think that those two human children could literally survive anything.

"Chara! You're ok!" Asriel exclaimed as he began to run over to Chara.

He didn't get far, however, as Frisk grabbed ahold of his hand and held him back. "...Not yet." Frisk said. "...I still have some business I have to take care of with him." Asriel looked at Frisk with a distraught look on his face. Frisk understood that his brother was in pain, and he wanted to help him, but she had to make sure that the job was finished first. "Trust me... everything is going to be alright." she said as she patted Asriel's shoulder and began to walk towards Hothead.

Seeing Frisk approaching, Hothead put Chara down as gently as he could, trying to get him on his feet. As soon as Hothead let go, however, Chara's legs immediately shook, unable to support his body. He fell to his knees with a grunt of pain, sweat coming down all over him and mixing with some of the blood he had on him. He gave a few more coughs, his lungs trying to get as much of the dust and debris out of them as possible before looking up, his red eyes watching as Frisk now stood before him.

"...Heh... heheheheheheh..." Chara laughed weakly as he looked down. "My, my... how you've turned the tables on me... after getting so much power from the souls and my hatred... I still wasn't able to beat you... heheheheh... I guess I underestimated what you were capable of... Frisk."

Frisk didn't say a word in response. She just kept her gaze firmly on Chara. She felt sorry for him, but at the same time, kept her guard up, just in case he wanted to try something again.

Chara just gave a laugh and shook his head. "...Well... you've come so far... you're almost at the end now... there's just... one last thing... you have to do." he said as he reached into the back of his khaki pants and pulled out a butcher knife. "...I'm too weak to fight against you anymore... too weak... to use this..." With a shaking hand, he gave the knife to Frisk, who reluctantly took it and stared at it as Chara went on. "...You know what you have to do... to put a stop to all this... strike me down... and end my terror forever..."

All of Frisk's friends stared, shocked by what Chara was telling Frisk to do. "...He... he's not serious." Papyrus said as he looked at Sans. "Frisk... Frisk wouldn't do that... right?"

"...We're about to find out." Sans said as he watched on quietly.

Frisk remained quiet as she looked from the knife to Chara, studying all of his features once again, particularly his face. She felt like it had been forever since she saw those rose blushed cheeks and red eyes of Chara's, even though it was only a short time since she had last seen them. "...I'm too dangerous to be kept around... with all of my hatred and my need for revenge... you know that it's the only way." Chara said. "...You said you wanted to save humanity from me... so go ahead... do what you have to do."

Frisk was silent as she looked back at the knife, contemplating what she should say. Memories of her long forgotten Genocide Run had begun to flash in her mind again as she stared at the blade of the knife. "...F... Frisk..." Asriel whispered softly as he watched on.

Frisk looked at the knife for a bit before giving a sigh and holding it to the side before dropping it on the ground. Chara looked up at her, confused as he heard the sound of the knife hitting the ground. "...No." Frisk said with a shake of her head. "...I won't do that, Chara... I'm not going to kill you."

Chara was obviously surprised by what Frisk had just said. He was quiet for a little bit before looking down to the ground, as if thinking of something to say. "...Heh... just when I was starting to give you credit for being stronger than what I thought." he said before looking at her with a smirk. "You once again prove that you're nothing but a coward. You're too weak to finish the job, and you know it."

Frisk didn't say anything in response, which made Chara's smirk fade and he looked down, trying to think of something more to say. It was obvious to Frisk that Chara wanted her to kill him for some reason, but whatever the reason was, Frisk had no intentions on finding out any time soon.

"If you don't kill me... I'll be back." Chara said as he looked up at her again, a pseudo wicked grin across his face. "If you don't kill me here and now, then I'll find all of the souls again... I'll kill you and take your soul, and then finish off what I started! Is that what you want, Frisk? You want me to be able to do that?"

"...You've lied to yourself for long enough." Frisk said with a sigh. What she did next was something that nobody there would have expected her to do. She fell to her knees like Chara, and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a hug.

Chara's grin immediately faded and his eyes widened as he was suddenly being hugged by the girl he had been trying to kill all day. His body went warm and everything felt numb... he had felt this feeling before... a long time ago...

"...Y... you..." Chara started to say, but didn't finish the thought. Instead, he closed his eyes and frowned, trying his best to pretend that he wasn't feeling something from Frisk's sudden act of care. "...What are you doing?" he questioned. "...Do you really think that this is going to change anything...? Because it... it won't..."

"You're not going to lie to me... not this time." Frisk said with a shake of her head as she didn't let go of Chara.

"...I never thought you'd be so stupid." Chara said with a sigh. "...You can't honestly expect to stop me by hugging me, do you? I'm never going to stop unless you finish me off."

He waited for a few seconds for Frisk to let go and finish the job, but she didn't budge an inch. "...Fine then... if you're not going to do what you have to... then I'll just take this moment to kill you and take your soul now!" His eyes glowed red, and red knives of energy appeared in the air behind Frisk, pointing straight at her.

"No! Leave her alone!" Undyne yelled as she grabbed her sword and was about to charge in, only to have Sans grab her hand and stop her.

"Leave Frisk be, Undyne." he said as he watched on. "...She's got this."

"But... she..." Undyne looked back as the knives in the air pointed at Frisk, threatening to come down on her once Chara gave the command.

Chara gave a growl as he looked at the knives. "You know what will happen if you don't kill me." he said. "...If you leave me alive, I'm going to kill you here and now!"

"...No... you won't." Frisk answered with a shake of her head, still not letting go of Chara. "...You can say you will all you want... but I know you won't kill me."

Chara looked down and gave another growl. "You've never been more wrong in all of your life, Frisk... allow me to prove it to you." he said as his eyes glowed red once again. "DIE!" On cue, the knives began to hurdle towards Frisk. Frisk could sense the knives coming, but didn't make a single reaction. She just held on to Chara, having no fear of his incoming attack.

Chara watched as the knives were coming down, Frisk making no reactions whatsoever. He gave a growl, and at the last second, just before the knives hit her, he had them stop just inches away from Frisk's back.

All of her friends stared at amazement as Chara's attack came to a stop. "H... how did she stop that attack like that?" Alphys questioned. "She didn't e-even do anything..."

"...She didn't... Chara did." Asriel answered as he watched on. "...You can do it, Frisk...I believe in you..."

Chara gave a growl and closed his eyes as he was trying to bring the blades down unto Frisk, but he couldn't do it. His chest began to hurt and his heart began to race as he tried to force himself to kill her. Tears began to stream down his eyes. He couldn't bring himself to do it. "...Wh... why..." he asked, his voice starting to break. "...Why... can't I... do it...?"

"...Because you don't want to hurt me." Frisk said as she held the boy tighter. "...You didn't take several chances to kill me during our fight... you're not taking your chance to kill me now... because you care about me... you care about what happens to me."

"No... I don't... I DON'T CARE ABOUT ANYTHING." Chara lied. "I AM A DEMON OF VENGEANCE! I EXIST NOW FOR NOTHING BUT THE DEATH OF THE HUMANS! I AM... I AM..."

"No... you are Chara Dreemurr." Frisk said. "...You love your mother and your father, and your brother... you care for all of the Monsters you've grown to love... you care for me..." She gave a smile as she went on. "...And I care about you too, Chara."

Chara didn't say anything in response. He no longer tried to force the knives down unto Frisk. Instead, he just knelt there, in her hold, tears rolling down his rosy cheeks as the truth of what Frisk was saying was finally starting to set in. All of Frisk's friends and Chara's 3 creations watched on, some unable to think of how to feel, while others smiled as they knew Frisk was getting somewhere.

"...Why... why can't you just... let me take your soul?" Chara questioned as he began to quiver in her hold. "...Don't you remember what the humans did to me? To our families... to you...? They won't accept you... they'll hurt you... they'll try to kill you... just like they did with my brother..."

"...What the humans did to Asriel... and what our parents did to us... were both inexcusable... but not all people on the earth are like that. There are some people who want to make the world a better place, despite all of the people like our parents." Frisk said as she gave a little sigh. "Chara... being a good person isn't about being a monster, or being a human... it's about being willing to be the few people who can change the world, regardless of what others say or do."

"...I... I can't accept that..." Chara said with a shake of his head. "...I can't... let them hurt any of you again... I can't... let them..." He went silent for a few seconds before shaking his head, his breath becoming hitched as he began to speak again. "N... no... that's... that's not the only reason... that's not... why I'm doing this..."

"I know." Frisk answered as she released him from her embrace as she looked at him in the eyes. "...You want to live again... you want to be with your mother, father and brother... and not have to worry about anyone hurting you again."

Chara gave a nod, and his lips began to quiver as he was trying not to cry. As he did, the knives that remained suspended in the air suddenly began to crack with a loud noise, which caused the flinching of everyone there except for Frisk and Chara.

"...I gave my life... to try to free all of the monsters... not just to potentially start a new war with the humans... they did so many nice things for me... took me in... loved me like I was one of them... I... I wanted to help them... just like they helped me." Chara said, pouring his heart out like the tears that came down his eyes. "I gave my life so that they could be free... and my brother died because of it..."

He looked up at Frisk, his entire body shaking in sadness and regret. "...I've been trapped by myself for so long... with nobody to help me... nobody to be there for me... with only my hatred and desire for revenge keeping me alive... I... I wanted your soul... so I could have another chance... to be with my family again... to not... have to live on just my hatred alone... I..."

Chara looked down again. The knives that remained in the air cracked again. "I... I don't care about revenge anymore... I don't want to kill all of the humans anymore... I don't care if I have the power of the souls or not... I... I just want to live again... I want to be with my brother... my parents... eat butterscotch cinnamon pie... and just... pretend that my death never happened..."

Frisk looked back as she heard the knives crack more. They were now completely cracked, ripe for breaking apart. "I... just want to live... I just... want to live..." Chara whispered silently. "I... I..."

It was at that moment where Chara's eyes were finally opened to the truth. He was filled with regret as the memories came flooding back of all of the monsters he killed and all of the people he had hurt in the past. At that very moment, the red knives shattered and dispersed into nothing, leaving not a trace as they disappeared.

All eyes were on Chara as the knives disappeared. Almost nobody dared to say a word as they waited to see what the child would do next. "...Did... did she..." Asgore started. Nobody was able to answer him yet.

"...Chara..." Frisk said gently as she put her hand on the boy's shoulder. She could feel it now. The hatred that infested his soul was now gone.

Chara looked up at Frisk and looked deep into those caring, friendly eyes that looked at him. His eyes were different now; the anger and vengeful fire in them was now extinguished, showing only pain and horror of the realization of all that he had done.

He tried to not cry, but he could no longer hold in his emotions. He began to cry and hugged Frisk tight, burying his face into her shoulder. Frisk was silent, but gave a smile as she held him close, letting him release all of his pent up emotions.

"I'm sorry, Frisk." Chara sobbed. "I'm so, so sorry."

"It's ok, Chara." Frisk said gently. "Everything's going to be ok... we're safe now."

Seeing what had just happened, Asriel, Asgore and Toriel walked over to the two of them. "...Chara..." Toriel said softly.

Chara looked up at his family with those same hurt, tearful eyes. Frisk released him from her hold, and he immediately fell to his hands and knees before his family. "Mom, Dad, Asriel... I'm sorry... sorry for everything." he said. "Please forgive me. If I could go back and undo all of it..."

There was silence among everyone for around a minute. After that minute, Chara gave a little smile and closed his eyes, as his breath began to slow down and his body began to go numb. "...It's happening..." he said as his body slowly began to become transparent.

"M-my child. What is this?" Toriel asked in shock. "What's happening to you?"

"...My hatred was the only thing that kept me alive." Chara answered. His soul became visible in his chest as his body continued to fade. The soul of Chara was merely a few fragments here and there, obviously whatever wasn't devoured by his hatred. "...When Asriel died... I was supposed to die with him... but the hatred I held for the ones that killed my brother held my soul together... now that I no longer have it keeping what's left of my soul in one piece..."

"No... Chara, you can't." Asgore said. "You can't die here... you just can't..."

"Sorry, Dad... there's nothing I can do about it now..." Chara said with a little chuckle. "...I know I don't deserve it at all... but... thank you... all three of you... for being here with me... before I fade away."

"Chara... please don't go." Asriel said. "...Please..."

"...Thank you... for never giving up on me... Asriel... no matter what happens to me... I'll always love you... all of you..." Chara whispered as his breathing was becoming more faint and his eyes closed. His body was almost completely faded.

"...How many times are you going to make plans just for me to put a stop to?" Frisk joked as she watched as the other Human Souls came from the rubble. As all of them formed in a circle around Chara, all of them took on the form of the people that Frisk had seen in her battle against Chara. Their bodies were misty and glowed the same color as their respective souls.

"By Jove..." Asgore said in shock of seeing all of the children there, right in front of his eyes. Aside from their misty bodies, all of them looked exactly like they had when Asgore had last seen them.

"...You really are one heck of a kid, ain't ya?" York asked as he tipped his hat. "Hats off to you, partner."

"I was actually getting a bit nervous when you took that knife." Grace admitted. "For a second there, I wondered if you might actually have done it."

"I told you she wouldn't have done it. Frisk is too nice to do something like that." Lila said with a giggle.

Frisk gave a nod and smiled. "I couldn't have done it without all of you." she said before looking back at Chara. "...If you don't mind... I think we have one last thing we have to do before this is all over."

"Well then... let's do it." Orlando said with a nod. All of them held their hands out, and their souls slowly floated off of their hands and circled gently around Chara. As they did, each soul began to gently heal Chara's soul, each soul giving their healing in certain forms. From Lila, green bandages, from Orlando, green thumbs ups, from Brianna, green eighth notes, from Paul, green positive words, from Grace, green eggs, from York, green four-leaf clovers, and from Frisk, green hearts.

Slowly as the souls continued to heal it, Chara's soul began to reform completely once again, and his body began to become opaque. It took around 30 seconds to fully heal him, but at the time they were finished, Chara's soul was fully restored, and his body no longer was fading away.

Once the healing process was complete, the souls all returned to their bodies. The sun shined brightly on the the other 6 as they all looked at Frisk. "...You did good, Frisk... you did real good." Brianna said with a nod.

Paul gave a hum. "...I'm afraid we are required to leave now." he said. "...I guess we'll be seeing you some other time... farewell, Frisk... and try not to need us again anytime soon."

Frisk gave a laugh and nodded. "I'll try." she said. All of the souls gave nods and closed their eyes as their misty bodies faded away, leaving their heart shaped souls, which slowly floated higher and higher into the sky. They kept going higher and higher, seemingly into the light of the sun until they were impossible for anyone on the ground to see.

"...H... huh?" Chara questioned weakly as he opened his eyes and saw that he wasn't fading away anymore. "...I... I don't understand." he said. "...My hatred is gone now... there's nothing more holding my soul together."

"Nah. There is." Frisk said with a smile. "The other Human Souls and I gave you hope and love to keep your soul together... I'm sure that they'll work much better than hatred."

"F... Frisk..." Chara looked down at the ground. He was happy to be alive still, but at the same time, he felt so guilty. "...Why did you do that? You know I don't deserve a second chance... not after everything I've done."

Frisk gave a hum and walked over to Chara and helped him up. "...A few friends of mine once told me that it isn't about whether you deserve it or not." she said. "...Besides... you gave your life away to try and free all of the monsters... I myself think you deserve another shot at life."

Chara said nothing in response and just kept his eyes down. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to respond to what Frisk just said.

"...How about I introduce you to some of the others?" Frisk asked with a smile as she began to walk Chara over to where the rest of her friends watched. "I'm sure they'll be happy to meet you... now that you're not trying to kill me, at least."


	22. The Nightmare's End

Chapter 21

The Nightmare's End

After what seemed like a hopeless chain of events for the past couple of days, it finally seemed like every loose end had been tied. Everyone stood amongst each other as they were all preparing to say their goodbyes and go about their own separate ways. The only one who didn't stand along with everyone else was Chara, who stood a few feet away from them, unable to face everyone after all the terrible things he had done.

"So... these last few hours have certainly been hectic." Hothead said as he looked at the ruined building. "...Today definitely didn't go how we had planned... I... had to miss my anger management class today because of the fighting going on for so long... but... I guess as long as everything works out in the end, I can't really complain.

Alphys gave a look to Undyne and gave a little clear of her throat. Undyne was quiet for a few seconds before giving a sigh and stepping up to Hothead. Neptune's Hound gave a little protective growl, but Hothead put his hand in front of the beast to make sure he didn't do anything.

"...I'm... not really good with these kinds of things..." Undyne started, giving a grimace as she felt like she had to twist her own arm just to get herself to do this. "But... uh... thanks."

"You're... thanking me?" Hothead questioned. "...What for?"

"For... saving Asgore and his family." Undyne answered. "...We were afraid that we were going to lose them when they got trapped in there... but the three of you risked your lives to save them... so... as much as I really don't like to say this to you three... thanks."

Hothead was quiet for a few seconds before giving a smile and a little nod. "...You know, fish face... I mean, Undyne." he corrected himself. "...I guess we don't have any reason to try and kill each other, now that Chara's stopped and all that... so... what say you and I have a little scrap here and now? No weapons, no powers, just our physical bodies as our weapons."

"Oh, I would love nothing more than to beat the Hell out of you in a rematch." Undyne was obviously pleased with the thought, but then looked back at Alphys before giving a clear of her throat and going on. "...But I'm afraid I can't right now... I have some personal business that Alphys and I will be attending to as soon as we get home... it's going to need our... full concentration and all of our energy." Alphys blushed furiously and looked down nervously.

"Ah. I hear ya." Hothead said with a nod. "Alright then... some other time."

"Wh-where will the three of y-you go from here?" Alphys questioned. "N-now that Chara no longer h-has you under his control, I mean."

"Hmmmmm... I think that the three of us have a little more searching to do." Hothead said as he looked back at the ruins of the building that Chara and Frisk had fought in. "...You see... while we were looking through all of that debris in search of Chara... it came to our attention that Darkeol and his five pals were nowhere to be found... it's as if they were never there in the first place."

"...Now that you mention it..." Papyrus said as he looked up in thought. "...We only saw Darkeol's friends after they set up a barrier to keep us from helping Frisk in her fight against Chara... I... don't believe that they were around very long afterwards."

"So they just set up the barrier and vanished..." Hothead said with a thoughtful hum as he looked to the sky. "...Hmmmmm... it doesn't sound like any of them to just disappear unless it was an extreme emergency, especially when it comes to a fight like that... it doesn't make sense that they wouldn't be around... but at the same time, we would have probably found them by now if they were."

"D-do you think they might have had a good reason for just leaving like that?" Alphys questioned.

"That's honestly what we're most worried about... if something is actually going on that required them to leave, we have to find them and see what's going on."

"...Well then... I'll tell you what." Undyne said with a little smile. "Once you find those six, feel free to swing by my place any time you like... I'll gladly take you on in that rematch any time you're ready."

Hothead gave a nod. "I'm looking forward to it." he said before he held out his hand to shake, to which Undyne just stared at him without shaking his hand. "Heheheh. Don't worry. I'm not gonna poison you or light you on fire while you're shaking my hand."

Undyne hesitated for a few more seconds before taking Hothead's hand and shaking it. The two of them gave little nods to each other and glared for a few seconds before releasing each other's hands. "...I'll be looking forward to the day I'll get to fight you again." Hothead said.

"As will I." Undyne said with a nod. With nothing more to say, Hothead turned around and walked away, followed by Illusionist and Neptune's Hound, the three of them going off to search for Chara's other creations.

"...Well... as much as I would like to stay here and chat with you guys... Alphys and I have to head out now." Undyne said as she turned to her friends. "We have some... business that we need to attend to."

Frisk gave a snicker and a nod. "You got it from here, Alphys?" she joked. "I doubt that I'm gonna be able to roleplay with you to help you on this one."

"F-F-Frisk!" Alphys squeaked as her entire face went red. Undyne began to laugh, while Asriel, Asgore and Toriel were left to figure out what Frisk was talking about.

Undyne stopped laughing within a couple of seconds. "Well... we'll be seeing you around." she said. "...Oh, and Asgore... congrats, man... I'm happy to see you with your family again."

"Thank you, Undyne." Asgore said happily as he held Toriel, Frisk and Asriel close. "We hope to see you both again soon." Undyne and Alphys turned around and took each other by the hand as they walked away, going off to do whatever business the two of them were going to do.

"Well... this certainly has been quite a long day, hasn't it?" Papyrus asked as he looked around. "I would love to stay around and talk about our latest victory... but I'm afraid my brother and I must head home now."

"You two have some places to be too, hm?" Toriel questioned.

Papyrus gave a nod. "Yes, indeed. You see, after everyone got out of the building, my brother brought to my attention a certain channel that the surface has known as the Food Network. After consideration, I decided that it would be the perfect channel for I, Master Chef Papyrus, to learn all of the different cooking styles that the humans have, so that I may be able to master them all and become a world renowned chef to both humans and monsters alike."

"Wow. That sounds great, Papyrus." Frisk said with a smile and looked at Sans, who looked back to Frisk and gave her a little wink. Not only would Papyrus learn a little bit more about others' cooking styles, but he might also be able to become a better chef overall. "I hope that goes well for you, buddy."

"Thank you, Frisk. It will most certainly go well for me." Papyrus said. "After all, there's no cooking style in the world that is too difficult for I, Master Chef Papyrus! Nyeh heh heh!" He turned around and began to leave. Sans just stood there for a little bit, staring at Chara. "...Sans? Are you coming, lazybones?"

"Yeah, I'm coming." Sans said. "Just... give me a second. I need to talk to the kid quick." Papyrus turned back around and watched as Sans walked over to Chara.

Chara kept his eyes down, looking to the ground. He couldn't bring himself to look at the skeleton, not just out of guilt, but also out of fear. The last time that Chara had gotten on Sans's bad side, he almost killed him. He didn't want that happening again any time soon.

"...You realize you've hurt quite a lot of innocent people, yeah?" Sans questioned with a hard frown on his face. "...Had it been any other person aside from Frisk... you would have long since been killed for what you did."

"I know..." Chara said as his head hung a little lower in shame. He knew that Sans was right. If Frisk wasn't the caring girl she was, Chara wouldn't have been standing there at that moment.

"Look at me, kid." Sans ordered. Chara didn't comply at first. "...I said look at me." he repeated a little firmer. This time, Chara hesitantly looked up at Sans, looking at that frown and those serious, warning eyes. "...You're very fortunate to be here and alive at this moment... for your sake you better make sure you don't hurt anyone like this again... if you do... you're definitely not going to like what will happen next."

"...I understand." Chara said as he looked to the side. He just couldn't bring himself to look into those eyes of his. "...I won't give you any more reasons to try and kill me."

Sans was silent for a few seconds. He closed his eyes and gave a sigh. From the looks of it, he was really struggling to be able to say the next few words that came from his mouth. "...It's not me you'll have to worry about, kid." he said quietly, his voice sounding like he was trying to keep someone else from hearing him. "...You've pissed a certain old friend of ours off through your actions... and he's not going to be as merciful as us if he gets his hands on you."

"Huh?" Chara questioned as he looked at Sans's eyes. They were still hard and firm, but Chara could detect a hint of some sort of concern for him. "...Wh-what do you mean? Who are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about... about..." Sans gave a groan and put his hand on his forehead. He seemed to have been in some sort of pain.

"Wh-what's wrong?" Chara questioned. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just... give me a second." Sans said as he held his head and closed his eyes, obviously in pain. As he did, Chara noticed a strange orange and blue glow that was appearing from under his left eyelid. His eyes widened as he swore he faintly heard the electronic, unidentifiable sound that he had been hearing all day yesterday.

Sans was quiet for a few seconds before he looked back to Chara, taking his boney hand off of his head. The glow that was in his left eye had completely vanished, and the faint sound that Chara was hearing was no longer able to be heard. "...Well... just pray that you never have to find out." he answered. "...Trust me... this is someone you're not going to want to meet again any time soon."

Chara had no idea what Sans was talking about, but he gave a little nod, choosing to take the skeleton's word for it. Sans gave a nod and turned around, walking over to Papyrus. "...What was that back there?" Papyrus questioned.

"Nothing. Just making sure that the kid and I are clear about each other." Sans said with a shrug.

"No, I mean the whole head grabbing thing." Papyrus said. "You held your head and looked like you were hurt."

"Oh... that?" Sans questioned, giving a shrug as he was trying to play it off. "That was just a little bit of a headache, Papyrus. Nothing that I can't deal with."

"Are you sure, brother? You seemed like you were in quite a lot of pain."

"Yeah, I'm fine. Really." Sans said quickly before giving a fake yawn and stretching. "I'm... probably just tired, that's all."

"Hmmmm... well... I suppose you haven't had a nap recently, with everything happening." Papyrus said as he looked up in thought. "...Well then, worry not, my brother! I, the Great Papyrus, will have us both home in no time, and then you'll be able to-"

"Uh, yeah. That's awesome, bro. Let's get going now." Sans said quickly as he began to hurriedly walk away, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"H-hey! Wait for me!" Papyrus called after Sans as he ran to catch up to his brother.

Asriel, Asgore, Toriel and Frisk watched Sans and Papyrus leave, all four of them having a concerned look on his face. "...He seemed like he was in pain." Toriel said.

"He's... been acting like that from time to time ever since we woke him up this morning." Frisk pointed out. "...He just seems... so secretive all of a sudden... like there's something he doesn't want us to know..."

"...Do you think we should go make sure he's alright?" Asriel questioned as he looked at his parents. "...He seems really bothered by something."

"...We'll check on Sans some time later." Asgore said as he patted Asriel's shoulder. "...For now, however... I believe it's time that we start heading home. It's been a long day for all of us... and I believe this is a cause of celebration, to have our family reunited again."

"If it's no problem to any of you, Frisk and I will go back to our house first, see if there's anything that could be salvaged from the damage." Toriel said. "There are a couple of things that I would like to be able to keep with me... if they aren't destroyed, that is."

"Asriel and I will help you then." Asgore chirped with a smile. "If we're going to be a family, then we'll work together as one." Toriel smiled and nodded before the two of them hugged again, both happy to be together with their children once more.

Asriel gave a smile at this and hugged Frisk, thanking her again for allowing this to happen. "Thank you again, Frisk... thanks to you... our family is finally back together again."

Chara watched and heard this from a distance and gave a little faint smile, showing his joy of seeing his brother and parents so happy, but also his sadness that he wouldn't be a part of it. After what Sans had told him, he believed he was too dangerous to be kept around them. " _...Take care of them, Frisk... be better than I was._ " he wished silently before turning away from them and hanging his head as he began to slowly walk away, unsure of what he was going to do.

Frisk saw Chara begin to walk and gave a little frown. "...Not yet, it isn't." she said to Asriel and broke the hug, looking at Asriel. "...If I'm not mistaken, Asriel... we still have one member of our family left out." She then gestured behind Asriel.

Asriel turned his head around and watched as Chara was attempting to leave. "...Yes... you're right." Asriel said with an understanding nod. "...I'll be right back." He turned around and began to run after his brother. "Chara! Chara, wait!" he called out.

Toriel and Asgore both looked over and witnessed Asriel running after Chara, who had stopped in his tracks, hearing his brother's voice. "Wh... where are you going, Chara?" Asriel questioned.

"...I... I don't know..." Chara said half-heartedly as he kept his head down. "...I don't really have any place to go at this point..."

"Chara..." Frisk said as she walked over to where Asriel was and stood by his side.

"...Asriel, Frisk..." Chara said with a sigh, his voice becoming more sad. "...Don't waste any more time on me... I don't want to cause any of you more pain... I'll just go off on my own, and-"

"Chara... you don't have to leave." Asriel interrupted as he took a step forward. "...You will always have a place with us... come with us, Chara."

Nobody dared to say a word for a few seconds. After giving an agreeing nod to each other, both Toriel and Asgore walked over behind Asriel and Frisk, watching as their adopted son was taking what Asriel had just said in. "...Asriel... please don't make this any harder than it has to be." Chara pleaded as he shook his head. "...I'd be nothing but a pain to you and the family... you're better off having nothing to do with me."

"But this is what you wanted, Chara." Frisk said. "We'll forget everything that happened these past couple of days... we'll be a family... just come with us. Please."

"...Why would you want anything to do with me... after everything I've done to you?" Chara questioned as he turned around to look at them, his eyes full of pain and remorse. "...I killed you... all of you... I caused all of you so much pain... I... I don't deserve to be here... I don't... deserve any of you."

"What you have done cannot be so easily forgotten, Chara... the pain that was caused by your actions could never be undone." Asgore started. Chara gave a nod and looked down, convinced by what was just said that Asgore knew he and the others were better off not having anything to do with him. "...But that changes nothing at all... it doesn't change the fact that you are still our son."

Chara looked at them all again, surprised. "...We took you in when you fell down... we raised you as our own son. You were always one of us." Toriel said with a gentle smile. "No matter what has happened in the past, we always have and always will love you, my child."

Asgore held out his hand gently to Chara, just like he did before Chara's fight with Frisk. "...You will always be our son... no matter what you've done in the past." he said gently. "...Come home with us, Chara... it's time for us to become a family again."

Chara stared at all four of them, too shocked to say anything. Even after everything he had done to hurt them, even after becoming what he had become during his fight with Frisk, his family was still willing to forgive him and take him in again. After taking the shock in and processing all of it, his hands began to shake, and he began to snivel as tears were forming in his eyes, moved by his family's act of love and kindness.

Asgore gave a quiet sigh and knelt down. He understood what Chara was going through, having once himself thought that he could never be forgiven for the sins he committed. He held his arms open gently. "Come here, my son."

Closing his eyes and looking down as his tears began to flow from his eyes down his rosy cheeks, Chara ran to Asgore and hugged him, crying into his armor. Asgore returned the embrace, hugging and giving a few reassuring pats on his back, to let him know that he understood Chara's pain, and would still be there for him no matter what. Toriel walked to them and joined in the hug, hugging her husband and their son close, which made Chara cry more.

"I'm so sorry... for everything I've done to hurt you all." Chara said in a broken voice, speaking through sobs and snivels. "I wish I could take it all back... I wish I had never done any of this."

"...Everything will be ok, our child." Toriel said. "We've already forgiven you."

Asriel gave a smile and stepped forward a bit. Toriel and Asgore released Chara, and let him look at his brother. "Asriel." Chara said.

Asriel and Chara both ran to each other and hugged each other, both silently crying in the other's hold. "...I never lost faith in you, Chara." Asriel said happily. "...I always believed in you."

"...Thank you, Asriel... for never giving up on me." Chara whispered. "...I'm sorry... for causing your death all those years ago... I should never have dragged you into my plan."

"Don't be... you didn't make me do anything I wasn't willing to do for you, brother." Asriel replied with a smile.

The two released each other's hold, and Chara walked over to Frisk. It was kind of an awkward feeling to be standing before the girl that he had tried to kill earlier that day. "...I... don't suppose there's anything I could do to... make up for all the Hell I put you through?" Chara questioned.

"...Eh. I wouldn't start trying if I were you. You'd definitely be at it for a long while." Frisk joked before giving a little laugh. "...I'm just glad to have you here with us... everyone's alive and safe now."

Chara gave a nod. "...None of it would be possible without you..." he said and held Frisk tighter. "...Frisk... thank you... thank you so much... I... I could never be grateful enough for all you've done for me."

Frisk gave a smile. "It was my pleasure." she said as they let each other go. "...So now... I guess we're brother and sister now, huh?"

Chara gave a little faint smile. "I guess so." he said. "Never would have thought I would call you my sister."

Asgore gave a smile and began to walk away from the ruins of the building to head for Toriel's house, Toriel walking with him right by his side. "...Come now, children." he said. "Let's go home now." Asriel, and Frisk nodded, and began to race each other to see who could catch up to their parents first. Chara hesitated for a few seconds, looking back at the ruined building before running to catch up with the others, ready to leave behind what he had started and start his life anew.

As they left the ruins of the building behind to start their new lives together as a family, all five of them failed to notice a strange distortion of time and space happening right above the ruined building, a small perimeter of the air bending and twisting as something began to appear. The distortion cleared up within a couple seconds, and standing on top of the ruins was the same being that had appeared to Chara in his nightmare that drove him crazy the day before. This time, however, his body was visible. There wasn't very much that stood out, aside from a large black cloak he wore and his hands, both of which had gaping holes in them.

He watched as all five of them walked away, not saying a word. He began to slowly raise his left hand up, as if he was going to do something to them, but didn't do anything past that. He just held his hand out toward them, staring at them through the large hole in his hand as they walked farther and farther from his view. They were soon gone, and the mysterious man put his hand down.

He stood there quietly for a few seconds, looking down and contemplating before he felt the presence of another being appear from behind him. He turned around and saw Darkeol, quietly standing a few yards away, staring at him.

The man gave a quiet hum and began to speak, speaking in a strange language that sounded nothing like any of the known languages. 'Ah... what have we here?' the being questioned. '...Someone who is actually aware of my presence now?'

Darkeol was quiet for a few seconds. The man was beginning to think that he had not understood what he said. This, however, was not the case, as Darkeol finally began to speak."...I know what you are." he replied, his red eyes glowing threateningly as he glared at the man. "I know why you are here."

'...Is that so?' The man gave an amused hum and began to approach Darkeol a little bit. For every two steps the man took, Darkeol took an apprehensive step back until the two were just a mere foot from each other. '...Tell me then, how is it that you are aware of what I am? I've been forgotten by almost everyone for many long years, and if I am not mistaken, you were merely created days ago.'

Darkeol didn't answer. Instead, he just stood there quietly, not taking his eyes off of the mysterious man for a minute. '...Interesting.' the man said with a hum. 'You certainly are more intelligent than the rest of the abominations that were created, at least.'

"...You shouldn't be here..." Darkeol said warningly as his staff appeared in his right hand, the dark purple mist sparkling rapidly with dark power. "...You don't belong here."

'You are going to tell me where I don't belong?' the man questioned amused, his white pupils appearing in his eye sockets. 'Correct me if I am wrong, but you and all of your brethren shouldn't be here either... because your creator should never have been here. He should be long dead, buried underneath the earth where he belongs.'

There was silence among the two for the longest time. The man gave a scoff that Darkeol was unable to come up with a retort for what he had just said. Either that, or he was actually smart enough to not deny the truth. Either way, the man looked back into the direction of where Chara and the others had walked again, looking back at the hole in his hand as he did.

"...If you truly wish to make Chara suffer, why did you leave him be for so long?" Darkeol questioned. "Your hatred for Chara is only second to the hatred that he carried for the humans after his brother's death, and I can sense the power that lies inside of you... so why have you not yet done any harm to him?"

'My, my. You truly are more insightful than I gave you credit for.' the man said as he looked back at Darkeol. 'You are correct. I could have destroyed Chara the very second he came back... I could have ended his pathetic life long ago... but I've decided against that. If he is going to be here, then I am going to put some use to him being alive.'

Darkeol waited for a few seconds. He was about to question what the man was talking about, but he didn't have to, as he began to speak once again. 'I'm going to use him to finish my experiment.' he went on. 'My hypothesis ended in a failure that cost me everything I was... and now that the boy is alive once again, I shall use him as my test subject.'

"Test subject... test subject for what?" Darkeol questioned. "What experiment are you talking about?"

'I'm afraid that will have to wait for a later time. Until I have everything ready for my experiment.' the man said. 'Don't fret, you and all the others will know soon enough...' He gave a smirk and got a little closer to Darkeol, their faces just a couple short inches away. '...Unless you would like to try and stop me now?'

Both of them stared at each other for a while, each waiting for the other to do something. "...I was created to serve Chara and protect him from anyone like you."

There was silence among them yet again, both quietly daring the other to say or do something. "...My brethren and I will be seeing you again soon enough." Darkeol finally said backing off a couple of feet.

'Indeed you will.' the man replied with a nod, not at all intimidated by Darkeol's threat. Chara's creation gave a little sigh and closed his eyes. He was surrounded by very deep purple fog, which dispersed in a matter of seconds. When the fog had cleared, Darkeol had disappeared along with it.

'...I may have some use of his creations as well _._ ' the mysterious man thought to himself out loud before turning back to the direction that Chara and the others had gone. '...But for now... I have work to do... so enjoy your gifted time with your family while you still can... for soon... I shall make you suffer for the crimes you've committed...'

The man gave a smirk and gave a little chuckle, the space around him distorting as he did. '...My research will not go to waste.' With nothing more needed to be said, the man disappeared, allowing Chara and the others to enjoy these moments as a family while they still had them.


End file.
